


A Link to Justice

by Minastara



Series: Links of Fate [1]
Category: Justice League, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: Completed, Multi, Telepathic Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-18
Updated: 2012-12-18
Packaged: 2017-11-21 10:38:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/596766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minastara/pseuds/Minastara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Justice League rescue an unusual girl, something strange happens. When the girl's power draw them in, will the Justice League escape? More importantly, will they want to?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Link Established

“…” – talking

_ ‘…’ –  _ thoughts 

 

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Disclaimer: Justice League and other DC characters don’t belong to me. The original characters such as Anyssa and the plot do belong to me so please ask before using.

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** Chapter 1: A Link Established **

 

In Metropolis, there was a sense of peace. Well…as peaceful as a nightclub on Friday can be. Anyssa Jordan, who just turned 21, was hoping that her first night out in a while would be more exciting. She had just graduated with her bachelors in Psychology and her new job as a Social Worker was tiring.

She and her friend Jane were standing outside Metropolis’ hottest new club, The Blaze. The club seemed to be living up to its name because it was hot tonight. And the fact that they were still standing outside after two hours was making someone equally as hot.

“Screw this. I’m going home,” Anyssa said. She started to move out of the line, only to be pulled back in by Jane.

“Don’t you dare! We’re so close!” her friend squealed. Anyssa was about to reply when a feeling struck her. _Not again!_ she thought. Anyssa knew those feelings never meant anything good, especially for _her_. Suddenly there was an explosion, sending Anyssa and the other club patrons to the ground. Jane’s screams could be heard through the noise of the crowd. Then, Anyssa felt herself being pulled away from next to her friend. 

“No!” Anyssa didn’t know who had shouted it, but she knew that whoever had her, it couldn’t be good. She found herself face-to-face with the some of world-renowned Justice League. There was Superman, Flash, Batman, and the Martian Man-hunter, J’onn J’onzz. Anyssa would have gotten excited to see them, if the circumstances weren’t what they were. She felt something metallic being shoved against the side of her head. 

“Back off, Superman. I would hate for this pretty little girl to not be so pretty anymore,” said a gritty, sweet voice behind Anyssa. The voice made a shiver run up Anyssa’s spine. That sweet voice betrayed a cruelty. It was something that her _feelings_ told her. 

“Let the girl go, Granny. There isn’t anywhere to go,” Superman said, looking for a way to get to the girl before Granny Goodness could do her harm. 

“Just hand me my transporter and I’ll be out of your hair… son,” Granny smirked as Kal-El narrowed his eyes. He looked to his fellow heroes, each in turn nodded grimly. Superman saw no choice in the matter. He held out the transporter.

“A fair trade, then. The girl for the way back to Apokalypse. Agreed?” Superman bargained. 

“Agreed. Now, why don’t you be a dear and activate the boom tube. Wouldn’t want you to think about double-crossing old Granny, now would we?” she said, holding Anyssa closer to her. Face grim, Superman pushed a button on the device and Anyssa felt a sudden wind come up behind them. Anyssa was forced to move when Granny began inching back toward the boom tube, dragging Anyssa with her. 

Anyssa had another feeling, a bad one. Anyssa looked to the Justice League, pleading with them with her mind, trying to send some idea of how bad this was going to be. And she thought she may have succeeded, when Granny said, “It’s been a pleasure, dumplings, but now it’s time to say goodbye to Granny.” After that, there was a shock and Anyssa’s world went black.

—8—

“Apparently, the shock she received from Granny has disrupted her neuro-pathways. That is the only explanation I can find as to why she hasn’t regained consciousness,” J’onn explained. It had been two days since their battle with Granny Goodness and the girl had yet to awaken.

“Is there anything we can do for her?” Superman asked. He still felt guilty for not getting to the girl before Granny had made her move. 

“I have picked up something from her mind in this recent mind-scan, but I will need time to decipher it. In the meantime, I think we should just make her comfortable,” J’onn said, turning to walk out of the room, heading back to his lab. The other three men watched him go.

“And what’re we suppose to do? Just wait around while J’onn does his thing?” Flash asked, clearly frustrated. Waiting was never one of his strong points. 

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do. Superman, see if you can contact New Genesis. Maybe they have some idea of what Granny’s been up to. I want to know why she was here,” Batman commanded. He knew the Man of Steel needed something to do, or else the guilt would eat at him. 

Nodding, the son of Krypton made his way to the control room.“Flash, you stay here, in case our guest decides to wake up,” Batman ordered. 

Mad that he’d basically been assigned babysitting duty, Flash asked, “What are you going to be doing while I’m babysitting?”Ignoring the sarcasm in Flash’s voice, Batman said, “I’m going to— Flash, look out!” 

Even for someone with light speed reflexes, the warning came too late.

~~~

End of Chapter 1


	2. A Speedy Man in a Frozen World

“…” – talking

_ ‘…’ –  _ thoughts ****

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Disclaimer: Justice League and other DC characters don’t belong to me. The original characters such as Anyssa and the plot do belong to me so please ask before using.

** **

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****

_ Last time on A Link to Justice:  _

_ Ignoring the sarcasm in Flash’s voice, Batman said, “I’m going to— Flash, look out!”  _

_ Even for someone with light speed reflexes, the warning came too late. _

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Flash watched as his surroundings changed from the med-bay of the Watchtower to one he was very familiar with. 

Central City.

It looked like a generally nice day. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for one thing. Everyone was frozen, or rather they were moving too slow for the eye to see. Flash groaned when he realized that he was back in his nightmare created by Doctor Destiny.

“Are you sure it’s just a nightmare? Because even nightmares have a basis in reality,” a female voice said. Flash turned and saw a figure walking down 

Main Street. As the person got closer, Flash saw it was the girl they’d rescued from Granny Goodness, though her attire was different. 

In the real world, the girl wore club hopping clothes fit for a night on the town. Here, the girl wore dark hip-hugging jeans and a dark green baby-tee. The outfit went nicely with her chocolate skin and dark hair. Flash gave himself a shake and got back to the matter at hand. “How did you get here? Did you bring me here?! How do you know that?” Flash asked with confusion and a little bit of panic. _‘If she’s here, does that mean I’m in a coma, too? Is there some level all coma victims interact on?’_ Flash thought, his mind going ten miles a minute. By the fiftieth thought, he had the girl by the shoulders, shaking her with rising panic. 

Breaking away from his grip, the girl backed up. “Hang on a sec, Speedy! To answer your first question: I have no idea how _I_ got here, let alone you. To answer your second: I really want to tell you, but this is your mind, your nightmare. You tell me,” she stated.

Seeing that she wasn’t going to be anymore forthcoming, Flash decided to take a seat on the unusually clean street curb. He look up at his companion, “What’s your name, anyway?” he asked. _‘If we’re gonna be stuck here for a while, we might as well get acquainted,’_ he thought. 

“My name’s Anyssa and we won’t be here that long if you’d just start talking,” she said, calmly. She sat down next to him.

“There’s nothing to talk about!” he shouted. He jumped up from the curb and looked down at Anyssa, his frustration apparent in his words and actions. “How do you know that my talking will solve this?!” he spread his arms, indicating the frozen city. 

Anyssa looked up at him, eyes wide and knowing. Finally realizing that Flash wasn’t the self-reflective type; she decided that she needed to point him in the right direction. “What is it about this place that scares you so much?” she asked. Flash shirked at that question, not meeting her eyes. 

Anyssa took a few calming breaths before saying, “Okay, Speedy. I know it’s hard for you superhero types to talk to someone, but I can promise you that whatever you tell me stays locked up here.” She tapped her finger to her temple. “This is something that seems to always hold you back. And I think talking about it will help you and this situation.” She finished her speech with baited breath. _‘Great, Anyssa. Scare him off with the psych talk.’_

“Maybe you’re right,” he whispered, still not looking at her. 

Anyssa’s head snapped up at that and she looked up at him. Though the mask hid most of his face, she could still see his eyes. Those blue eyes that she somehow knew were usually full of laughter were serious. Nodding, Anyssa made her way over to a small bench with Flash right behind her.

“Okay, Mr. Flash. Why are you so scare of this place?” she said, gaining a small chuckle from her new ‘patient.’

“First off, call me Wally and secondly… I have no idea where to start,” he said. Anyssa considered this for a second.

“Okay, Wally. Can you explain to me why everyone else is frozen?” she asked. There was a moment of silence then Flash murmured, “They’re not frozen.”

Anyssa blinked at that. Trying to shake off her confusion, she put her hand on his knee and calmly asked what he meant by that.

“Just what I said! These people aren’t frozen, they’re just going a heck of a lot slower than me!” he exclaimed. He continued to ramble on, now doing some fast pacing. 

Anyssa let him vent as she as she thought about what he’d said. Coming to her own conclusion, she called to him. He stopped himself mid-ramble and looked at her. “I think the reason we’re here is because you’re afraid that your super-speed will isolate you from the rest of the world,” she stated.

Now, it was Flash’s turn to be confused. “What do you mean by that? This power is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve got fame, girls, and I’m part of the Justice League because of it.” 

Even as he counted off those things, Anyssa could hear the small note of doubt in his voice. Heck, she could see it in his eyes! She stepped closer to him and put a hand to his cheek. “You may believe that on a conscious level, but sub-consciously… I think you’re afraid of losing control,” she said. She closed her eyes and focused on him. “You never had any control, did you, Wally?” She opened her eyes and looked into his. She saw fear. She could feel him distancing himself from her.

Flash back away from her with a gasp. The fact that a virtual stranger knew his deepest secret… quite frankly, it scared him.

“Please don’t pull away, Wally. We are so close to it, so close to figuring this all out,” she smoothed. He looked at her and saw the pleading in her eyes. _‘You can do this. You can finally let go…’_ her eyes said to him. He stepped closer to her until he was an arms length away.

“You’re right. The way I got my powers was never my choice. Uncle Barty showed me what a great gift it could be to many others and I’ll always thank him for that, but there has always been this, this fear in the back of my mind that I’ll never be able to slow down,” he explained. 

Anyssa could see the change in him after that admission. Gone were the stiff back and nervous eyes. For a man with no patience, he seemed almost at peace. But most importantly, the world around them slowly started to reflect that peace. The birds started moving and the cars were inching along. The people on the sidewalk, however, were still frozen. “Look, Wally.” She directed him to the sky and the cars. 

His face was one of mixed emotions; happy that something was moving in this frozen world, frustration that what he admitted didn’t seem to be enough. “What more do you want!!!” he yelled into the sky. 

Anyssa sat back down on the bench they’d just vacated, and slowly went over everything Wally had told her. Suddenly an idea came to her and she hoped her instincts were right. “How are your relationships, Wally?” she asked. 

“Huh? My relationships? They’re great! I’m beating them off with a stick.” The cars and birds started to slow down.

“This isn’t the time to embellish, Wally,” she said through clenched teeth. 

Panicking, Flash quickly amended, “Okay, okay! It’s not great. I haven’t had a steady girlfriend in the past five years.” Anyssa could see that that fact embarrassed him by the small flush of his cheeks, but be that as it may that admission got the cars and birds moving again.

“Go on, Wally,” she prodded. 

Flash took a deep breath cleansing breath before he began. “I guess with the Justice League and my patrols of Central City, I just haven’t had time for a serious relationship,” he said. 

“You haven’t had time for one or have given up on finding one?” she asked.

“I haven’t—“ Flash stopped himself and really thought about Anyssa’s question. Had he really been avoiding a relationship? Sure, he got plenty of numbers from women, but how many did he take seriously? To answer the question, none. “It’s hard to have a relationship when you’re a superhero. If the lies don’t kill the relationship, then the possibility of an enemy finding out about it, will. So, it’s better not to have any.” 

The cars were moving at normal speeds by the time Flash finished his admission, but the people around them were still. Anyssa knew that it was up to her to finish what Wally had started. She felt a deep pull to help heal the wounds he’d opened up to her. 

“Closing yourself off from others, consciously or not, isn’t healthy. You have so much to offer to anyone who would have you. I know we just met, Wally, but I want to heal the pain I see in your eyes. I know how long _this_ ,” she waved her hand in the space between them, “will last, but I promise that I will always be there for you, Wally.” Then she raised herself onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. At first there was no response, and then Flash relaxed against her and gave himself into the kiss. 

It wasn’t the type of kiss where sparks flew. It was the kind of kiss one gave to someone who needed to know they were cared for, the kind of care that could grow into a passionate bond. The pair held their kiss for what seemed until their last breath was about to leave their bodies. 

For a moment, they both just stared at one another, a look of understanding passed between them. It was then that Anyssa noticed something. The people around them were moving! “Wally, look!” she exclaimed. 

Flash looked around, then grabbed Anyssa about the waist and spun around with her, shouting “We did it!” in glee. Anyssa laughed, glad to share in his happiness. Within herself, she felt something click into place. _It time to go._ She waited for Wally to stop spinning her. “You did it, Wally. I’m very happy and proud of you.” With a small sigh and smile, she told him, “It’s time for me and you to go.” 

Flash startled, said “Go? Where? Back to the real world?” She nodded, and stepped closer to Flash. Flash could see that she was already starting to fade from this world. 

“Just remember what you learned here and you’ll be fine, darlin’,” She winked at him and gave a thumbs-up as she vanished. Flash didn’t have time to miss her, as the world around him also disappeared…

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“I don’t know how or even the why, but Flash and the girl’s brain pattern have returned to their original states before contact was initiated between them,” J’onn explained as he looked at the instruments.

“What does that mean for them?” Superman asked, arms folded across his chest. 

“It means that we still have no idea what is wrong with the girl and Flash should wake up soon,” Batman clarified. He turned to J’onn, “Is there any sign of mental tampering, or brain damage?” 

J’onn’s eyes glowed as he did a surface scan of his team-mate. Once finished, he shook his head. “There doesn’t seem to be any signs of manipulation. In fact, Flash seems elated.” As if to prove his point, a smile eased itself across Flash’s face.

“If Flash wasn’t hurt by what happened, then what is going on?” asked Superman. “Good question. I’ll be sure to ask Flash when he wakes— Superman!” Without warning, Superman, the one of strongest men on the planet, just dropped. 

Batman turned toward the girl’s bed. “J’onn!” he called out. The Martian rushed over and knelt next to Batman. Instinctively, J’onn tried to reach his team-mate telepathically. “Well?” asked Batman.

“The same as with Flash. There is some type of shield, just as strong or maybe even stronger than the one that was around Flash,” the Martian explained.

_ ‘How is this possible?’ _ Batman thought. _‘The first time, she touched Flash to establish this type of connection. This time, there was no contact whatsoever. Unless…’_ “She is getting stronger. She no longer needs contact to initiate a connection,” he deduced. “If that’s true, then she needs to be isolated until Flash or Superman wake up.”

“Perhaps the barrier chamber? Both Superman and the girl will have to go in. I don’t want to accidentally cut off whatever this connection is. It could harm one or both of them,” J’onn said.

“Do it.” Batman instructed. As he watched J’onn prepare, Batman’s thoughts turned inward with one particular thought in mind. ‘ _Who is this girl and what in the world is going on here?’_

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** End of Chapter 2 **


	3. The Burdens of a Strong Man

“…” – talking

_ ‘…’ –  _ thoughts ****

** 8::8::8 **

Disclaimer: Justice League and other DC characters don’t belong to me. The original characters such as Anyssa and the plot do belong to me so please ask before using.

Thanks to Soothing Burns, TheAngryPrincess13, and ShadowsGrace for reviewing!

** 8::8::8 **

_ Last time on A Link to Justice: _

_ “You did it, Wally. I’m very happy and proud of you.” With a small sigh and smile, she told him, “It’s time for me and you to go.” _

_ “If Flash wasn’t hurt by what happened, then what is going on?” asked Superman. _

_ “Good question. I’ll be sure to ask Flash when he wakes— Superman!” Without warning, Superman, the one of strongest men on the planet, just dropped. _

** 8::8::8 **

The world opened up to Anyssa. All around her were buildings. Broken buildings as though something of great power had torn through them. As she continued to walk down the deserted streets, the city became familiar to her. Metropolis.

She was walking into the business/shopping district. _‘What happened here?’_ she questioned inwardly. As if to answer her question, there was a loud crash and she watched as another building fell. Normally, Anyssa’s common sense would her to run for her life, but her ‘other’ sense was telling her different. She was needed there. She felt herself running toward where the building had fallen. The closer she got to the collapsed structure, the more she began to realize why she was being pulled to it.

Someone was in there. Someone was in there and they were so full of despair and rage that it was enough to hurt her heart. _‘Why?! Why am I back here…this nightmare…’_ a voice sounded in her mind. She tried to reach out mentally to the voice, to try to calm them until she got to them, but received silence. When she finally reached the wreckage, there was no one to be found. 

“Hello!! Anyone here?!” she shouted. She was about to try digging through the rubble, when something exploded through it, throwing up dust in its wake. When the dust cleared, Anyssa was face-to-face with a giant.

At least, he was so bulky that he could’ve been. She gasped as she realized a horrible fact. The monster before her, the one who more than likely destroyed that building and others, was none other than Superman, _protector_ of the city! _‘He must be why I’m here,’_ she rationalized. _‘I have to help him through this mindscape.’_

Anyssa had learned through her experiences with others, that a person’s perception of reality was something she called a mindscape. More importantly, it showed a person’s perception of themselves and Superman’s perception of himself was looking mighty bleak.

“Superman, stop!” she screamed, running over rubble to get closer to him. 

Hearing her exclaim, he turned sharply, as if her sudden appearance had startled him. “Stay away!” he shouted. That brought Anyssa up short, stopping her just a short distance from Superman. 

“Why?” she questioned, once again moving toward him, albeit at a slower pace.

“Why?” he repeated. “Because I’m destroying everything and everyone I touch, that’s why!” Anyssa stopped herself less than three feet from the man of steel.

“That can’t be true. You haven’t destroyed yourself,” she said. Her statement did make a small bit of sense to him. It only then that Superman got a closer look at her.

“You’re the girl we rescued earlier, but what are you doing here? What did you do to Flash?” he accused. She shrugged her shoulders at his questions. She understood that he was snapping at her because she was the first person he had seen since coming to this nightmare.

“First off, I have no idea what I’m doing here. I just got here. As for Flash, I didn’t _do_ anything to him. He came, he went. The name’s Anyssa, by the way,” she added, off-handedly. Seeing that he wasn't very satisfied with her answer, she sighed, taking a seat on a nearby rock, and waited for him to continue his questioning.

“What do you mean that Flash ‘came and went’? What did you and Flash do here?” he questioned, standing a distance from where Anyssa sat. He didn’t want to get too close, no matter how untroubled Anyssa seemed about his current predicament. 

“I promised Flash that I would never discuss what went on there, but I can say that his demons are no longer a problem for him. Once it wasn’t a problem, he left and I guess I remained,” she explained. Hearing how she must have sounded Anyssa shook her head and smiled a tiny smile at Superman. “So, how did you get like this?”

Though she tried to hide it, Superman could see that the fact that being stuck here, wherever here was saddened her. Deciding to save his other questions for later, he began, “At first, it was my heat vision. It started to activate without me consciously doing anything. I thought I could control it until…” he stopped, bowing his head.

_ ‘Until someone got hurt,’ _ she finished, inwardly. She could see the tears well in his eyes. He blinked to drive them back.“After that, I couldn’t turn it off. Then, my strength just kept growing. I couldn’t take a step in the street without cracking the concrete! I tried getting someone, _anyone_ to help me, but I always crushed them!” he yelled, his frustration obvious as he punched remnants of the collapsed building. 

Worried that he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, Anyssa rushed over to him. “Calm down, Super-” she was cut off when one of those fists slammed into her waist. The blow threw her in to the building a block away. “Anyssa!” He super sped over to where he saw her fall. 

** 8::8::8 **

“It’s about time you woke up,” a voice said to Flash as he was awakening. Flash quickly sat up and looked at his surroundings. He saw Batman standing next to his bed. He was back in the Watchtower, in medical to be exact.

“What happened?” he groaned, putting his hand to his head. Suddenly all the memories of his time unconscious came shooting back to him. He looked at the beds beside him, looking for the woman that was supposed to be in the next bed. “Where is Anyssa?” 

“You know her name, Flash?” Batman questioned.

“Yeah, she told me. So, what?”

“So, you two have actually been in contact while you were connected. Interesting.”

“Yeah, ‘interesting’, big whup. Answer my question, where is she?” he asked again, getting up from the bed.

“We put her in the barrier chamber. She—” there was a swoosh and Flash was gone. 

Flash ran until he was in front of the glass window looking into the barrier chamber. J’onn was next to him. Inside were Superman and Anyssa, each in their own beds and hooked up to monitoring devices. 

“Good to see that you are awake, Flash,” J’onn said, still looking into the room.

“Thanks, J’onn. How did Superman end up in there?” Flash asked.

“If you had waited a minute, I could have told you,” said Batman as he joined the two in the hallway.

“Well, fill me in.” Flash waited.

“Apparently, after this woman unlinked from you, she psychically connected to the person closest to her, which happened to be Superman,” J’onn explained. 

“When she first connected with you, Flash, she did it by touching you. This time with Superman, she didn’t need to touch to initialize contact.” Batman elaborated. “Whatever she is doing, it is growing in strength.”

Flash just shrugged. “I don’t think she’s a threat, Batman. Heck, she even helped me through some things. She’s a victim of this, just like us.”

“Even so, she stays in there until we get some answers as to how she is doing this,” Batman stated, obviously not going to budge on the issue. Flash wasn’t going to give up that easily, after all, this woman had helped _him_.

“That isn’t fair—” Flash stopped what he was saying. He put his hands to his chest, gasping as he if all of the air had been forced from his lungs. He collapsed to the ground, his vision blurred as he struggled to breathe. He could hear alarms beeping all around him. Then just as suddenly as it started, he could breathe again. He looked up to see J’onn next to him, trying to help him up. Batman’s attention wasn’t on him, but on something in the room.

“Not a threat, huh? Then why did you collapse as soon as her stats dropped into the red?” Batman asked.

** 8::8::8 **

Superman leaned over Anyssa afraid to touch her for fear of doing more damage. Her body was so still she looked dead to him. _‘I’ve killed her,’_ he thought. Another innocent person slain by his hands. Hands he’d once thought could save others; that could have made the world a better place. Now, they made him nothing, nothing but a murderer. He turned away from Anyssa’s body, unable to bear the sight of her laying there. He was about to ascend to places unknown when he heard a faint “damn” from behind him.

He whipped around to see Anyssa in the process of sitting up, arm wrapped around her ribs. “How…” he gasped, shock resounding through him. He tried to say something else, but his relief was so great that he couldn’t find the words. “A-are you okay, Anyssa?” he was finally able to get out. 

She groaned as she slowly got to her feet, taking shallow breaths along the way. She hissed sharply from the pain as she finally gained her full height. “I’m okay,” she whispered, though she didn’t know whether it was for her benefit or his, but she did know that she hurt like hell. 

“I’m glad, but how is this possible? You must have broken your spine on this building,” he speculated. She couldn’t blame him for being curious. To him, this place was as real as the air they breathed. 

“It’s possible because… this isn’t… real.” She took a moment to catch her breath and said, “It’s a dreamscape.”

“A dreamscape? If this is nothing, but a dream, why not just wake up?” he asked, leaning his still huge figure against the side of the building.

It was a legitimate question. “Did Flash wake after your attempts at rousing him?” she inquired. He shook his head in the negative, “When Flash didn’t respond to regular methods, J’onn attempted to wake him psychically. It didn’t work,” he answered.

Anyssa nodded as though she knew that would be the outcome of their efforts. “He said that there was some type mental shield preventing him from entering the deeper depths of Flash’s mind, keeping him from waking Flash up.” Superman saw the knowing look on Anyssa’s face change to one of surprise and worry. _‘She didn’t know about that,’_ he surmised.

Anyssa closed her eyes and took some calming breaths since she could feel herself begin to panic. She had no idea what this ‘shield’ was, where it came from or how it got there. This is way beyond a normal dreamscape.

From what she knew, a normal dreamscape allowed the dreamer to face their problems in a world where their frustrations couldn’t manifest and hurt others in the real world. 

In most case, if the person could not deal, they’d wake themselves up or somebody could wake them up. It was what people commonly termed a nightmare. In the worst case, the person may enter a self-induced coma, not waking until the problem was resolved. When she met Flash she thought he was one of those cases, but now… She feared something else was going on, something she had no idea how to fix or fight. 

Her heart froze as her mind went to the questions Superman had asked earlier, about what she’d done to Flash. When they’d disappeared from the frozen world, she thought they’d wake up in their respective hospital beds. Now, she was in front of the man of steel, in another dreamscape. It made her fear where Wally might have ended up.

“Before you got here, did Flash wake up? Is he okay?” she asked, concerned about Flash’s well-being, but dreading the answer. 

Hearing the worry in her voice, Superman moved closer, not close enough to encourage contact, but close enough to provide comfort. “Before I ended up here, J’onn said that Flash would be waking up soon. He even said that Flash seemed happy,” he elaborated. When she smiled at that, he couldn’t help smiling also. 

“Thanks. I’m glad he’s okay.”There was silence between them as each considered their situation. _‘The fact that Wally’s awake means that I was right. Face the problem, break the dreamscape.’_ But how to do that with Superman was the question of the hour.

“Do you have any idea how to get out of this place?” he asked.

“Well, the way it worked for Flash was to figure out the motivation behind the dreamscape, what is fueling it.” She looked up at the bulky man next to her, knowing that he was going to hate what she was about to tell him. All superhero-types were bound to hate it. “This could get very personal, Superman,” she said, watching as he flinched at the word ‘personal.’

If the situation wasn’t so serious, she would’ve laughed. She stood up from the wall, and this time slowly, reached out to him. When he didn’t move away, she released the breath that she didn’t even know she was holding. She laid her hand on his bicep since that was the only thing she could reach. “I can only promise you the same thing I promised Flash. That I will never tell another soul what you tell me here, Superman.” 

Superman looked at her hand on his arm, then back to her face. If was as if he was searching for something there. He nodded, evidently finding it. “Clark,” he said.

“What?” she said, not quite believing was she was hearing.

“My name. It’s Clark.” At the confused look on her face, he added, “Since you said that this is obviously going to get personal, I thought I might as well get a head start. You can’t get more personal than one’s secret identity,” he smiled, nervously. She had to smile at that truth. “Okay Clark. Let’s get started,” she said, taking a sit on the sidewalk, her back against the building.

She gestured at the piece of sidewalk next to her, indicating she wanted him near her. Though hesitant, Clark lowered his body to the ground, causing a dent in the concrete when he landed. “Soo,” she started, “tell me about yourself, Clark.”

“Well, I was raised on a farm in Smallville.”

“Really?”

“Surprised?” he asked, smiling a little.

“Yes, actually I am. I never would’ve have guessed that the world’s strongest man would be a farm boy at heart,” she replied.

“Well, believe it. I was probably the only that could finish all their chores in two minutes and still make it to the bus on time,” he laughed.

“You’ve had your powers all your life, haven’t you?” she asked. She didn’t know where this line of questioning would lead, but she could feel that this was the right direction to take.

He nodded, “As long as I can remember, though not always at the degree I have now.” 

“What do you mean by that?” she asked, wanting him to elaborate. 

“Well, certain powers didn’t hit until my high school years. The x-ray vision came first, the super hearing, the heat vision, and then the flying.”

“Which one would you say was the hardest challenge to master?” she asked, letting her curiosity get the better of her.

“They each were their own challenge, but since I was so afraid of heights back then, I’ll have to say flying.” For a second, Anyssa just stared at him. When she realized he was serious, she couldn’t help, but giggle a little.

“Who would’ve thought. Superman afraid of flying!” she laughed. Seeing the absurdity of it, Clark joined in with a few laughs of his own. Once their laughter was finished, Anyssa sighed. Time to get back to the matter at hand. “Clark, when you were sixteen, were you as strong as you are now?”

He took a moment to thin about it. It was the first time the question had been asked of him. Heck, it was something _he_ hadn’t even thought about. “No,” he finally answered, “When I was sixteen, I couldn’t do half the things I’m capable now.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be afraid of your strength getting out of control,” she said, confidently.

Clark just looked at her, “How in the world did you get to that conclusion?”

“Well, it’s obvious that as you’ve aged and as your powers grew you acclimated to them,” she explained.

“ _‘Acclimated?’_ Oh, yeah, I acclimated so well that I knocked you into this building without trying!” he exclaimed, sarcastically. 

Anyssa could feel, ironically, a headache coming on. She thought that giving Clark a clear view of his problem would help, but it just seemed to lead to more guilt and frustration for Clark. “Yes, that was you, but it was an accident, Clark.”

“No one can call themselves a hero, if they allow accidents to happen,” he said, looking towards her. 

_ ‘He couldn’t possibly believe that…could he?’ _ she thought, but the look in his eyes told her something different. “If you really believe that, Clark, you’re in for a rude awakening.” 

He was taken aback slightly by the coldness in her voice when she spoke those words. “In a perfect world that may be true, but you know better,” she continued. “Never being wrong, never making mistakes? That’s a hard standard to live up to,” she said softly, shaking her head.

Clark thought hard about what she said. Was he expecting too much of his fellow heroes? Of himself? “Maybe, but is it wrong to stride toward that?” he asked, more so of himself than of his companion.

Anyssa could sense the frustration in him, but there was something else, something deeper. She could sense the frailty in him, the complete lost of self. She just wanted to reassure him, to restore his faith in himself. She laid her hand atop his fisted one. The feel of skin on skin snapped Clark out of his mediations, turning toward the woman next to him. 

“It’s okay to have goals in life and to try to stride toward them. But if you start to obsess over those goals, they become burdens. It is possible that your mind is starting to reflect those burdens.”

She received no reply to that. The man beside her was so silent that she thought that he had once again slipped into self-reflection when came, “Can you give me a moment alone?” he asked. 

“Sure. I’ll just window shop over there,” she nodded her head to the department store window across the street.

“Thanks.” She just smiled, got up, and started walking. Clark leaned back further against the building, and took a deep breath. Everything that Anyssa had told him was drumming across his mind. 

Maybe she was right. Maybe he had turned his goals of helping others into something too extreme for even him. Maybe that was the reason behind his current form. He always relied on his strength to help others solve their problems as Superman. Perhaps his mind was doing the same for him. 

The heavier his burdens became, the stronger his mind’s ‘body’ needed to become to handle it. If he did what Anyssa suggested, if he let go of his burdens, would he revert to his true form? _‘Well, it never hurts to try,’_ he thought. 

As if that thought was a trigger, his body began to shrink. The process began at his hands and quickly progressed up his arms to the rest of his body. One would think that this reversion would be a painful process, but Clark was more surprised by the _lack_ of pain. Soon, Clark Kent, the man also known as Superman, was back to normal self, or at least he hoped so.

He looked his over, making sure all was right. He breathed a sigh of relief when everything seemed to check out. He had one person to thank for that and she was standing across the way. He had to thank her somehow, and was going to start now.

Anyssa felt silly. Here she was in the mind of Superman, trying to help him, and by proxy herself, escape from this dreamscape and she was window shopping. Window shopping, for heaven’s sake! She didn’t even do this when she was in her own body, but she needed something to do. She didn’t want to make Clark feel uncomfortable about asking for some solitude, but she needed to feel useful. But what more could she do really? She had given him all that she could think of to help him realize and face his problem. _‘It’s up to him now,’_ she sighed, inwardly. 

A touch of a hand on her shoulder, and a voice saying, “See anything you like?” made her turn around sharply to face a more familiar form. “It worked!” she squealed, reaching around Clark’s neck to hug him.

The superhero returned the embrace, for once not afraid of hurting her. “Thank you, Anyssa,” he whispered into her dark hair.

“You found the answer to your own problem, Superman,” she replied, gently back. He leaned back a bit and with his hand, gently tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him. 

“That may be true, but I would be lost without you to lead the way.” He leaned down and laid a small kiss onto her forehead. 

Anyssa felt a small click in her mind. She knew what that meant. “Time to go.”

“What?!” he said, startled. “But we haven’t figured out how to help you!” She looked down at the ground.

“That’s okay. I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end,” she whispered. “Now, who’s sounding optimistic?” he teased. “Tell me, what is the last thing you remember before you arrived in Flash’s dreamscape?”

“Well, the old woman was holding me, and I was looking at the four of you, trying to reach out to you—” her voice cut out at that moment as the rest of her body started to vanish before his eyes. She must have realized that she was no longer being heard by her companion because her mouth stopped its motions and she just smiled at him and waved.

“Thank you,” he mouthed, also smiling as she completely disappeared. As she disappeared, Metropolis went with her. 

Soon his world also went white.

** 8::8::8 **

Batman stood watch over the man of steel and the girl, Anyssa. J’onn had taken Flash back to medical after what had happened earlier. Slowly, the clues were coming to them. It was clear that something strong had happened between Anyssa and Flash, something so strong that it could penetrate the barrier chamber’s defenses.It was… disturbing. 

Batman could feel a presence come up behind him and since there was no slight wind, it could only be J’onn.

“Has there been any change?” J’onn asked.

“Not yet. How is Flash?”

“He seems to be fine, but I found something that the surface scan of his mind missed. It would seem that there is some type of psionic link connected to Flash’s subconscious. I tried to follow it to its source. I was blocked by this barrier,” J’onn reported.

“Hmm,” Batman sighed. Another piece to the puzzle. _‘So, this woman is forming deep psychic connections with those she bonds with. That explains what happened earlier,’_ he concluded, inwardly. Maybe when Clark’s awake he would get the answers he needed to stop this before they all fell.

“Batman, Superman’s awake.” 

** 8::8::8 **

To be continued…

What can Clark tell the others about Anyssa? Who will be next to fall to her? Find out next time on _A Link to Justice_!


	4. Linking Possibilities

“…” – talking

_ ‘Hello’  _ – thoughts

** 8::8::8 **

Disclaimer: Justice League and other DC characters don’t belong to me. The original characters such as Anyssa and the plot do belong to me so please ask before using.

Thanks to Soothing Burns, TheAngryPrincess13, and ShadowsGrace for reviewing again!

** 8::8::8 **

_ Last time on A Link to Justice: _

_ “You’re the girl we rescued earlier, but what are you doing here? What did you do to Flash?” he accused. She shrugged her shoulders at his questions.  _

_ “First off, I have no idea what I’m doing here. I just got here. As for Flash, I didn’t do anything to him. He came, he went. The name’s Anyssa, by the way,” she added, off-handedly. _

_ Flash just shrugged. “I don’t think she’s a threat, Batman. Heck, she even helped me through some things. She’s a victim of this, just like us.” _

_ “Not a threat, huh? Then why did you collapse as soon as her stats dropped into the red?” Batman asked. _

_ “Batman, Superman’s awake.” _

** 8::8::8 **

The beeping sounds of the EKG and EEG machines were the first to greet Superman as he awoke. He slowly sat up, half expecting to see Batman or J’onn hanging over him in the med-bay. Batman and J’onn were nowhere to be seen.

In fact, he wasn’t even in the med-bay anymore. To his left was Anyssa, still unconscious and hooked up to the same various machines from the med-bay, machines he was also hooked up to.He began pulling the electrodes from his scalp and chest.As soon as he did, alarms went off to alert someone of a problem.

As second later, a voice echoed through the sound system, “Calm down, Superman.” It was a voice Clark recognized and trusted.

“J’onn, what’s going on here?” He took a good look at his surroundings. The floor was a white tile and the walls were the same steel gray as the rest of the Watchtower. The room had several beds, all lined up in a single room next to each other. Width-wise the room wasn’t that big, with a couple of feet between the edge of the beds and the opposing wall. The opposing wall, at about half-way up, was thick one-way mirror. It was suppose to let those not within the room to monitor anyone inside without disturbing them, to give those inside some comfort. But at that moment, Clark was more annoyed than comforted. 

“Why are we in the barrier chamber?” He turned the machines that were once attached to him off as he listened to J’onn.

“The woman was able to pull you into the same coma-like state Flash was in without physical contact,” he said, as if that explained it all. Unfortunately, it did for Clark. Anyssa’s power was, and possibly still is, getting stronger. The others put them in there to prevent any further psychic leakage and with that any psychic connections.

He walked to the mirrored wall using the sound of J’onn and Bruce’s heartbeats to guide him until he was standing relatively face-to-face with them. “Is Flash awake?” he asked curious. There were a few seconds of silence passed on the other side, then footsteps leaving.

Before he could ask what was going on, Batman asked, “He’s fine. What exactly happened while you were out, Clark?” Clark knew that Bruce wouldn’t ask such a question unless something he might’ve known was important. So, he told him everything from his destroying the buildings of Metropolis to Anyssa’s arrival to him knocking her into the wall of one of the buildings to the conversation and revelations with Anyssa to finally Anyssa’s recall of her last conscious moments. 

For Bruce, the pieces were slowly coming together, especially after Clark’s explanation of a dreamscape and Anyssa’s last moments. “Meet us in the med-bay in twenty minutes,” he said and with no further explanations, he unlocked the door and left.

Clark turned from the mirrored surface to the room’s other occupant. Her long dark hair fanned over the pillow making sort of dark halo around her face. The machine still read everything as normal. Though her appearance hadn’t changed since they brought her to the Watchtower, Clark felt there was something was missing from her. Now that he’d met and talked with her, he noticed that the life energy and compassion he’d come to associate with Anyssa wasn’t anywhere to be seen. The spark that made her who she was just wasn’t there.

He lends in and with his hand brushed a strand of hair from her face. He touched his lips to her forehead in a move similar to what he’d done before leaving the dreamscape. He pulled himself upright and softly said to her, “Thank you again, Anyssa. I don’t know if you can hear me, but I promise we’re going to bring you back.” With that, he exited the barrier chamber and headed for the med-bay, hoping that the world’s greatest detective had a clue on how to help his new friend.

** 8::8::8 **

Bruce Wayne, better know to his fellow League members as Batman, was not happy. With what Clark had told him and the physical manifestation Flash exhibited earlier, he didn’t like where this was leading. As soon as he’d left Clark, he contacted J’onn and told him to meet him in a room down the hall from the med-bay. Once they were there, he told him the key points of his conversation with Clark.

He had an idea of what had been happening and wanted to bounce it off J’onn before presenting it to his fellow members. When J’onn confirmed his idea as a possibility, he listened to everything that J’onn had to say about the symptoms and consequences if it became a reality. J’onn also had an idea of his own that was equally as possible with a similar outcome to his own. Neither idea was particularly appealing to Bruce.

Once they were positive that these two suggestions were best and most likely probabilities given everything that had happened, they left to meet the others in the med-bay. By now Bruce assumed that Flash was awake and pacing the floor that a frantic pace. This was going to be a long night.

** 8::8::8 **

Batman was right. He and J’onn entered to see Flash pacing so fast a groove was starting to form in the steel floor. Superman was sited on one of the beds, arms crossed over his blue-and-red clad chest. 

“Good to see you are awake again, Flash. Welcome back, Superman,” J’onn greeted. 

“Thanks, J’onn,” Flash said, stopping his frantic pace. Superman nodded his thanks and looked toward the Martian man-hunter. “What have you got?”

“We have been able to come up with two theories, but I think we better go back to what we know about her.” Batman stepped forward and began. “Her name’s Anyssa Jordan. She’s 21 and just graduated with a Masters in psychology from MetropolisUniversity.” 

J’onn continued, “She’s an empath with minor precog ability. The psychic barriers she has been able to create would suggest some telepathic ability as well.”

“Yes, however these telepathic abilities were rather weak at best,” Batman added. Flash started, unable to believe what Batman had just said and expressed it. “You’re gonna have to explain that one, Bats. She created barriers that J’onn can’t even bust through.”

“Before the electroshock she received from Granny Goodness boosted her powers, she told Superman that she attempted to reach out to us telepathically. She was trying to do this at the exact moment she received the shock,” Batman further explained. 

“That still doesn’t explain why you guys think she is a weak telepath,” Flash replied. 

Superman’s eyes widened, slowly realizing just what was happening. “You mean she...”

“Exactly.” Batman answered. He knew Superman knew where this was going. Flash looked from Batman to Superman, still in total confusion. “Um, can somebody tell me what ‘exactly’ is?” he asked, feeling once again out of the loop.

“She was trying to establish a telepathic link to us, like what J’onn uses to communicate with us mentally, but if she were weak in this area as Batman thinks, then she was pushing those abilities harder than normal to accomplish this. When Granny jolted Anyssa, her powers shot into overdrive, Flash. She did more than just establish a link to us. She formed a psychic bond to us,” Superman elaborated.

“Oh. Well, why not just snap the bond? It’s not like any of us want this,” Flash stated simply.

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. It isn’t just an empathic bond, but a fully telepathic one as well. This type of bond will allow this woman access to our minds if allowed to be completed.” 

“Access to information that could possibly spill over into each of us. So, if we are going to do this, we need to go into this with _everything_ fully disclosed,” Batman added, firmly.

“W-wait a minute, guys,” Flash backpedaled. He looked to all the men in the room, each with a serious look on his face. He could feel a slight sense of dread overtake him. “What about the whole secret identity thing?”

Batman strode forward until he was face to face with Flash. “Wally West, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne,” he said, removing his cowl. Flash just gazed at him in shock, whether it was from Batman knowing his identity or from the fact that _Bruce Wayne,_ boy billionaire, was Batman, he didn’t know. Deciding not to worry about it at that moment, he muttered, “Okay, okay. Showoff.” After he too removed his own mask, he walked back to the beds and sat on one.

Superman watched that scene between Batman and Flash with some shock. He knew that Gotham’s Dark Knight valued his secrets. The fact that he had just laid one of his most important secrets out for everyone to see gave notice to how serious this was. He turned to J’onn, who seemed to be waiting for everyone to get back to the problem at hand. “J’onn, please continue. Are you sure that there is no possible way to stop this?” 

J’onn shook his head, replying “It isn’t just an empath bond, Clark, but a fully telepathic one. It may have been possible in the early stages to cut the bond; unfortunately, now with it half formed, it could kill the woman.”

“That’s not an opinion,” said Wally firmly, his head in his hands. Though always seen as the ‘kid brother’ of the League, Bruce could see the years on him. “I agree,” Clark said. Wally rubbed his face in an act of frustration and sighed. “So, what else can we do?”

“Complete the link,” Bruce stated. “There are two possible outcomes if we do this. The first is the complete mental bond J’onn spoke of. The second possibility is a bit more complicated.” He glanced at the other two men, unsure how they would take the next part. “The bond could be a physical one as well as mental.” Bruce waited for the explosion that was bound to come from one of the other men. To be frank, he was expecting it, especially from Wally.

“Um, how physical is physical? I mean, is it the occasional touch? A kiss? The full shebang? What?” Wally rushed through, beginning his pacing anew.

“All of those are possible, though it is unknown which form it will take,” J’onn elaborated. 

“What about Anyssa? Does she get a say in this?” Clark asked. “With a mental bond, a person can learn to shield themselves, but a physical one may be too much to ask of her.”

“But this could kill her, Supers!” Wally exclaimed, obviously not believing what he was hearing from the Man of Steel. “You think I don’t know that!” Clark yelled. Realizing that he was yelling, Clark took a deep breath and said again, “You think I don’t know that? I do, but what if she doesn’t want this, Wally? She may survive the mental connection, only to die of the physical one.”

“But that’s not the only possible outcome!” Wally said, not to be disheartened. “There’s still a chance this could be just a mind thing.” 

At this moment, J’onn stepped in, facing Superman. “Wally is correct. That possibility does exist.” Wally smiled at that, proud he’d made his point. J’onn turned to face him, saying “Superman is also correct.” Wally’s smile faded. “But—”

“That is why I will be going next,” J’onn interrupted. “I will explain to Anyssa what is going on. If she does not accept this, then I can break the connections made from her side of the link, which will in effect kill her.”

Wally gave heavy sigh. He didn’t like that they were in essence discussing killing someone, but there was little he could do. “Well, if we’re gonna do it, let’s do it!” Though not the way they would have put it, the others couldn’t agree more.

** 8::8::8 **

The command center was quiet as Clark walked in. Flash—no, Wally had agreed to accompany J’onn to the barrier chamber. It was a good idea. If the pattern was consistent, then as soon as J’onn entered the chamber he will collapse just as he and Wally had. _‘At least, Wally can get J’onn to a bed before he hits the floor,’_ Clark smiled. 

He walked over to the monitor, activated it, and turned it to the barrier chamber camera. The room was still empty of anyone except Anyssa in her bed. She was just as Clark had left her. Something about her pulled at him. Something he couldn’t figure out. Was it the bond? Was that what he was feeling?

“How are you, Kent?” He pulled his gaze from the screen to the dark knight beside him. To be honest, the question surprised him. Bruce wasn’t the emotional type. So much so that Clark often wondered how he kept his lady’s man reputation. “I’m fine, Bruce, but don’t you think you overdid it back there?” 

“No,” he answered, simply. 

Now that didn’t surprise Clark. Bruce had always been a man of few words. “What about you, Bruce? I know that doing this isn’t high on your list. So, why are you going along with it?”

“Would you let someone die if you could help, Clark?” Silence answered him. “That’s what I thought. If this woman accepts, I will be the last piece of the link. The very thing that could mean life or death for her.” He shook his head and looked directly at Clark. “I will not be that.”

Clark didn’t know what to say to that, so he remained silence as he and Bruce waited for J’onn and Flash to enter the chamber.

** 8::8::8 **

Wally was worried. He and J’onn were walking to the barrier chamber. Not a long trek, but one that was making him think. What Superman said before they left the med-bay bothered him. 

_ “We can’t force her. This has to be her decision alone.”  _ While he did agree that they couldn’t force her, he didn’t want to just give up without a fight. It just didn’t sit right with him. They were basically condoning suicide, if not helping it! That thought stopped him in his tracks.

“J’onn?” The Martian halted his pace and turned to his teammate. “Yes, Flash?” he asked in his usual tone.

Flash smiled wryly, “The cat’s out of the bag now. You can call me Wally when it’s just us.”

“Okay, Wally. Is that all?” Wally shook his head. “When you’re in there, can you please tell her to remember the promise she made to me and that it goes double for me?” He looked imploringly at his friend. “Please don’t let Anyssa choose to die without knowing that we’d support her.”

J’onn looked at him. His gaze always seemed to go beyond the superficial, into deeper parts of him that Wally couldn’t even describe. Seemingly satisfied with what he saw, J’onn nodded. “I will, Wally.” 

Wally breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, man.” They continued on their way to the chamber in relative silence. “Well, here we are.” The door to the chamber before them, Flash asked “You ready?”

“Yes.” Flash pressed the buttons to activate the door. As soon as the door cracked, J’onn felt a force grab a hold to his mind. He tried to alert Flash that it was beginning, but all he could feel was his body falling. 

By the time Flash caught him and put him in the bed Superman occupied, J’onn J’onzz had joined Anyssa in unconsciousness.

** 8::8::8 **

** To be continued... **

** The next chapter will involve J’onn and Anyssa. What will be Anyssa’s decision on the link be? What will J’onn’s problems involve? Check out the next chapter to find out! **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on, if the people present are in the know, then I will shift back and forth between the superhero moniker and the secret identity. I hope this doesn’t cause any confusion.


	5. A Foreigner in a Foreign Land

“…” – talking

 _‘Hello’_ – thoughts

**8::8::8**

Disclaimer: Justice League and other DC characters don’t belong to me. The original characters such as Anyssa and the plot do belong to me so please ask before using.

Thanks to Gabija Eir (formerly Soothing Burns), ShadowsGrace, and Psycotic Rabid Fangirl for reviewing!

**8::8::8**

_Last time on A Link to Justice:_

_“Why are we in the barrier chamber?” Superman turned the machines that were once attached to him off as he listened to J’onn._

_“The woman was able to pull you into the same coma-like state Flash was in without physical contact,” he said, as if that explained it all._

_J’onn continued, “She’s an empath with minor precog ability. The psychic barriers she has been able to create would suggest some telepathic ability as well.”_

_“She was trying to establish a telepathic link to us, like what J’onn uses to communicate with us mentally, but if she were weak in this area as Batman thinks, then she was pushing those abilities harder than normal to accomplish this. When Granny jolted Anyssa, her powers shot into overdrive, Flash. She did more than just establish a link to us. She formed a psychic bond to us,” Superman elaborated._

_“That is why I will be going next,” J’onn interrupted. “I will explain to Anyssa what is going on. If she does not accept this, then I can break the connections made from her side of the link, which will in effect kill her.”_

**8::8::8**

The place was empty. The place was a city in the middle of a desert, a desert that seemed to go on for miles in any direction, its red skyline looming. The place may have even been called beautiful if it wasn’t so devoid of life. The architecture was unlike anything Anyssa had ever seen in her life. The buildings were so open and warm, as if those that once lived within them had nothing to hide from each other.

Anyssa had no idea where she was located, or more accurately, whose dreamscape she was in. She tried to get a sense of where her host was, but the only thing she could sense was an extreme sense of loneliness and sadness. In fact, the whole city seemed to resonate it. _‘Maybe this emptiness is the cause of it,’_ she thought as she looked from building to building, hoping to see something or someone. After ten minutes of blindly wondering around the city, she began to worry since she still hadn’t seen any sign of anyone.

Having enough of this wondering, Anyssa decided to go for the direct approach. “Hello! I know you’re here somewhere! Can you hear me?!”

“I can hear you just fine, Ms. Jordan,” a voice from behind startled her.

“Oh, crap! You scared me!” she admonished, hand over her rapidly beating heart. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself. Once sure she was calmed, she looked at the person before her. An imposing figure at 6’10, the most alien-looking member of the Justice League stood before her.

“Um, hi. I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I’m Anyssa.” She held out her hand to him and said, “Nice to meet you.” 

The alien took her hand, shaking it firmly. “J’onn J’onzz. It is a nice to meet you also,” he replied.

“Thanks.” She smiled at him, taking her hand back. “Where are we, J’onn?” she asked, still in wonder at her surroundings.

“This is the city of Ba’cuum, once one of the greatest cities on Mars. It was the first city attacked when we were invaded by the Stilus Bellicus and it was my home,” he explained.

Anyssa truly empathized with J’onn. To lose a home and a family was something she understood all too well, but something in the way he spoke about it just felt wrong. In fact, there was no emotion in his voice whatsoever when he spoke of those dead. “—something we must discuss.” Realizing that J’onn was speaking to her, Anyssa shifted her attention back to the Martian. “What about, J’onn?”

“We have discovered the cause of these dreamscapes and the source of the mental wall that surrounds your mind and the minds of those connected to you.”

“Really? What is it?”

“Come this way. I’ll explain as we go.” As they made their way across the city, J’onn explained what happened when Granny Goodness shocked her up to what they figured must be going on: a telepathic bond. A bond that could go one of two ways: either a totally mental bond or a physical and mental bond. It was basically a roll of the dice as to which one it was going to be.

Anyssa listened, quite astounded by what she was being told. “So, you mean this is all my fault? But how? I’m just an empath with barely there telepathy! How could this have happened?!” she moaned, head in her hands.

“I am sorry that we could not prevent this, but you must make decision.”

And it was some decision. Either allow herself to be ‘disconnected’ from the League, ultimately killing herself or choose to live and be linked, perhaps physically linked, to four strangers for the rest of her life. She sighed, feeling more tired the more she thought about it. Could she risk it? Could she risk this becoming more than just mental? If it did become physical, could she handle it? Heck, could the others hand it? Would Wally and Clark come to resent her for basically inserting herself into their lives permanently? Would Batman also resent her? Would J’onn? Looking at the alien standing beside her, Anyssa could sense a lot of things from him.

That fact in itself was strange.

Normally, she’d just get glimpses of someone’s emotions, sometimes a stray thought because of the inner defenses. Even in the emotionally-driven world of a dreamscape, it was just normal to keep secrets and the subconscious responded to this desire by creating mental shields, inner and outer ones. Depending on how open a person was, the shields varied in strength. That was why even non-empaths could read small children so easily. Children, unlike adults, rarely kept their secrets well. It was just human nature to keep those secrets close and guarded, but maybe that was the point.

J’onn wasn’t human and she shouldn’t think of him by human standards. Maybe his people were more open about themselves, or maybe J’onn consciously opened his shields to her. _‘Either way, this will certainly help, given my talkative company,’_ she laughed to herself.

Unfortunately, her mirth didn’t last long as she remembered her situation. _‘How could she choose? How did she know which path was best for her and those involved?’_ She was so caught up in her thoughts that she just decided to pluck herself on one of the rock formations outside of a house. _‘Wait a minute... a house?’_ she thought as she glanced around.

It was indeed a house. Though unfamiliar with the architecture, it seemed that during their talk, J’onn had led them to, for lack of a better word, the suburbs. She took a quick look to see that the other houses were distant, almost translucent to her eyes, not solid as the house she was now in front of. It was as if the other houses weren’t as important as the house before her. _‘Maybe they weren’t important to J’onn...’_ she concluded, as she turned to J’onn to see his attention not on her, but on the house. Though he facially gave nothing away, his emotions told a different story.

There was extreme sadness, grief, and guilt beyond what she’d felt from him in the city. There was also something else, something that was connected to the sadness.

Longing. Longing for what she did not know, but underneath that longing there was great loneliness. All she did know was that it was all connected to this house.

She sighed inwardly. Though she knew her problems were more pressing, she was secretly glad to get her mind off of them. “Was this your home?” she asked.

“Once, yes,” he answered.

“Did you have a family?” she questioned gently, not wanting to be disrespectful.

“Yes, once.”

“I’m so sorry, J’onn.”

“It doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago,” he replied in his usual stoic manner, but his gaze never left the house.

“It _does_ matter. Just because it has been a long time since their passing doesn’t mean you can’t still miss them.” She bowed her head slightly. “Believe me; I understand exactly what it feels like to lose your family. To be alone in the world...” she stated, taking a deep breath for just saying those words, brought back old memories, painful memories that belonged in the past. Once composed, she continued, “So, please don’t disregard your grief as if it doesn’t mean anything.”

When her plea was met with silence, she decided to take the conversation on a different route. “This is a beautiful house, J’onn.” It was beautiful. The structural design was strange with its rounded edges and unusual shapes, but unique. The tan color went well with its surroundings of desert and sun. The bushes that covered the landscape were a pale green, which added some color to the scene.

J’onn finally broke his silence, saying, “Yes, My’ria’h loved it too. She would spend hours out here, shaping the loota plants to compliment the exterior.”

Anyssa got to her feet, wiping the back of her jeans, though it was more from habit than from actual dirt on her jeans, as she went to stand alongside J’onn. “She sounds like a very nurturing and creative person,” Anyssa commented.

“Yes, she was. The children would sometimes help her. I can still hear their laughter,” he said, his mind obviously remembering better times with the family he lost. Anyssa reached up and put a hand upon his upper arm, hoping to provide some type of comfort.

At her touch, J’onn redirected his attention back to her. “I think they would be proud of you. You risk your life on a daily basis to protect a planet of strangers. It’s something that we sometimes don’t deserve.” She looked into his face and smiled, hoping that her words would help assuage his grief. He grasped the hand that was on his shoulder, and shook his head.

“It is my sh’la’th. There is no honor or pride to be found in that,” he said, sadly. “Sh’la’th?”

“My duty, my penance for my failure,” he said. He saw she was about to ask what he meant, but he held up a hand to forestall her questions. “I have already failed to save my family. Then, I failed in guarding the Stilus Bellicus during their hibernation. I knew that their next target would be Earth and I couldn’t let my failures cause the destruction of another world. I promised to do everything in my power to protect this planet, and I will continue to do so.”

“At the expense of yourself?”

“That is my duty.”

Anyssa looked at J’onn. She was astonished at the depth his grief reached and how blind he was to it. “That’s an honorable decision, J’onn. It really is, but doing it as reparation is wrong.”

“What? How can you say that? You know nothing of my people, our culture!” he exclaimed with a touch of anger in his voice. It was the first sign of real emotion Anyssa had seen from him since arriving in this dreamscape and it meant only one thing. They were getting somewhere.

“You’re right. I don’t know a thing about your culture, but answer me this: You say that you failed your family because you failed to defeat the invaders?” At his nod, she continued, “That’s precisely my point. When you awoke and found the invaders awake and ready to attack Earth, you didn’t flee the galaxy to get away from another battle. You came to warn us and fought side-by-side with the rest of the Justice League. Together, you defeated your old enemy. Once they were defeated, your debt to your family, to your people, was repaid, J’onn. That was your duty! That was your sh’la’th!”

Much of what she said made sense to J’onn, so much in fact that himself wanting to believe her. But if what she said was true, then what was he to do now?

Still sensing some confusion from him, she asked, “What do _you_ want to do, J’onn?” When he didn’t say anything, she decided to suggest something. “If you want, you could leave Earth and Justice League and settle on a peaceful planet.”

Leave the Justice League? Leave Earth behind him? As soon as the thought came to him, he immediately disregarded it. “No, that is not my wish. The League has become my family and Earth my home. To be honest, I don’t know what I want,” he commented.

“Well, you could continue to do what you’re doing now, protecting Earth and working with the Justice League. If you’re tired of fighting, settle down on Earth, travel the globe and get to know the people.” She squeezed his much larger hand in hers. “I’m sure that whatever you choose, both of your families would be happy for you.”

J’onn knew she was right. His fellow League members wouldn’t hold it against him for wanting another life. True, the thought of living a peaceful life on Earth had its appeal, but he knew he couldn’t bring himself to leave the League. They had been there for him and he for them. J’onn looked at the woman before him, smiling a small smile. She had given him much to think about for the future, and helped him to see there was more to life than simple duty, something he had forgotten. “Thank you, gl’ae’da, for helping me see what my grief has clouded.”

“Sure, no problem, J’onn. It was my pleasure,” she replied, but then her facial expression changed from one of satisfaction to one of confusion. “What does gl’ae’da mean?”

“It means young, wise one.” Feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment, Anyssa coughed and said a small “thank you” to the Martian. Though the words were there, Anyssa checked his emotions to see if the feelings behind the words were true. Though severely lessened, the feelings of grief and sadness were still there. That was to be expected. After all, there was no way they’d just disappear after one talk. No, it would take time for those wounds to heal, but now that J’onn has decided to let the guilt go, he was on his way to finally being at peace with his past. The loneliness that was close to being overwhelming when she’d first arrived and met J’onn was receding. This didn't happen all at once, but slowly.

Overall, she would say that he seemed content. “But if that’s true, then why are we still here?” she thought aloud to herself.

Hearing her musings, J’onn replied, “I am holding the connection open. There is still some business we must discuss regarding the bond. Have you made your decision?”

**8::8::8**

The darkness that enveloped the room was normal, particularly for Bruce Wayne, who did his best work in the cover of darkness. As he sat there in his room aboard the Watchtower, he reflected on everything he’d learned in the last few hours, especially about the possible new addition to their lives.

Anyssa Jordan. A woman who had her share of troubles. She lost her parents at the age of 15 to the Riots, though details on it were sketchy at best. She was bounced from relative to relative, but surprising able to keep her grades high enough to be accepted at MetropolisUniversity on a full scholarship. She had just graduated this spring with her degree in Psychology with a minor in, surprisingly, Metahuman Studies. _‘Perhaps curious about her abilities and the abilities of those like her…’_ he concluded.

But possibly the most curious thing about this whole situation was why now? Why someone with her background and with just the right skills to handle this? What was the plot? Insert this woman into their lives and weaken them? But if the story that Clark got from her was to be believed, then there were too many factors to consider for it to be a viable plan. No, this situation wasn’t man-made that was certain, perhaps it was mystical in origin.

 _‘It may be time to consult Doctor Fate or maybe Etrigan.’_ As much as he loathed bringing them in on this, this was quite frankly out of his depth. Of course, he’d been involved in mystical happenings, but never has he been at the center of something like this. Unfortunately, contacting those with the experience was going to have to wait. J’onn would be finished soon, and whether the woman chose death or life, he would be there to either bear witness or take the next step.

**8::8::8**

_“Have you made your decision?”_

To be honest, she had stuck the entire ‘bond situation’ in a mental closet in favor of handling J’onn’s problem and hadn’t thought about her own.  Now that the question was brought forth, she was still in the same in the same dilemma. Could she share her mind and possibly her body with four strangers? That brought up another question, which she posed to J’onn, still unsure of her decision. “Are you sure this is the only time the bond can be broken?”

J’onn just stared at her for a second. He’d already explained this to her once, he was sure. He watched her as she slowly nibbled on her bottom lip in a nervous motion, then he saw her question for what it was: a delaying tactic. “Yes. The barrier that your powers have erected is, at this moment, impenetrable from outside forces. The only recourse is to do this from the inside,” he explained once more. J’onn’s explanation didn’t seem to help alleviate her anxiety; in fact it got worse.

There were other things besides anxiety he could sense. The foremost was fear, which wasn’t surprising give the decision he was asking her to make, but there was an overwhelming amount of it. _‘She’s practically terrified. What has got her so frightened?’_ he thought to himself. He decided to ask her.

“Well, death is pretty high on the list right now,” she answered, giving a weak laugh as her arms wrapped themselves around her. She refused to look at him. “I don’t want to die, J’onn,” she whispered, her tough exterior slowly cracking.

J’onn moved closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders, trying to provide some comfort and said, “Then I do not see a problem with your decision.” Apparently, J’onn’s comfort wasn’t what she needed as she shook herself from his grasp, taking a couple of steps back to put some distance between them.

“There is a problem. A big problem,” she stated, her voice no louder than a whisper. “You call the League your family. If I complete this bond, I’m gonna become a part of that family, whether all of you like it or not. Believe me; I know from experience that being forced upon someone is no way to endear you to them. What kind of future can I expect if I’m bound to people that hate me, huh?” she asked, her voice no longer shaking with fear, but anger.

J’onn stepped closer to her, not letting her anger deter him. He once again placed a hand on her shoulder and used the other to slowly lift her chin up so that he could see into her eyes. “This bond may have been forced upon us, but you must not forget that you are a victim as well. This is not something you entered into willingly.” Seeing that his words hadn’t convinced her, he continued, “Wally made me promise to tell you something.”

Her eyes lit, her curiosity peaked. “What?” she asked.

“He asked me to remind you of the promise you made to him and that it went double for him.” That brought a smile to her face. “Thank you, J’onn. Tell Wally thank you, but he—”

“He also told me not to let you die without knowing that we would be there for you,” he continued, cutting off whatever she was going to say, fearing what she was about to say. J’onn hoped that what he’d told her would help with her decision, but as time went on with no response, he began to doubt.

When he first entered into this, his intention was to not influence her decision, to do what was needed to be done and leave, but upon his arrival in this world... He’d been shaken, confused by this empty world of his memory, and as she helped him through it, something else changed. His resolve to end this quickly was shaken. He didn’t want to break the bond. Perhaps that was why he’d told her everything Flash had told him. He didn’t want to lose this woman. This woman, who thought about others before herself, this kind person who was a rarity among her kind. It was to his relief when she asked, “Is that really how you all feel?”

It meant she doubted her initial thoughts, but her question presented another problem. How can you tell someone who is possibly making the decision of their life based on what you say that you don’t know? For purely selfish reasons, he wanted so desperately to lie to her, to tell her that the others felt the same, but those eyes...

Those dark brown eyes that stared solely into his, awaiting an answer, begged him for honesty and honesty is what he gave her. “Flash and Superman have expressed such support. I had intended to remain neutral, but having met and talked to you, I agree with them.”

“And Batman? How does he feel about this?”

“Batman was the first to suggest this idea, and he agreed, but ...”

“But you don’t know how he feels about it,” she finished for him. The fact that Clark, Wally, and J’onn were willing to accept her among them helped to ease some of her fears, but Batman’s silence put knots in her already queasy stomach.

Seeing the unease return, J’onn pressed forward, “No, I do not know of his feelings about this, but he is not one to make decisions lightly. He would not have agreed to this if he had not considered all the consequences.” J’onn didn’t know how it got to the point where he was fighting for her decision, but he did know he wasn’t going to back down. After all, he was fighting for his family. He knew that Flash, Superman, himself, and even Batman would mourn her loss, mourn it so deeply he did not know if they would ever recover from it.

He grasped both of her shoulders and pressed her body to his with a firm hold. Her body was tense as she struggled against his hold, then realizing that he wasn’t going to let her go that easily, she slowly began to relax. “You say that you know what it means to lose a family. If you decide to break this bond, you will be losing another family, not to mention denying yourself the chance to have a family again with us,” he whispered into her hair. “But Batman—”

“Like I said, he isn’t one to make snap judgments. If you just be truthful with him, he will respect you for it. Just do your best, but remember he’s not the only one in this family that needs you.” He heard her gasp and stiffen against him at his words. He knew she was thinking about what he’d said.

Out of the blue, he got a vision of fire. The fire surrounded him and he could hear voices crying out, to whom he had no idea. Then, as quick as it came, it was gone. The suddenness of it suggested that it was a memory, but a memory of what? He was about to ask her that, when he heard Anyssa mutter something against his chest.

“Could you repeat that?” he asked, pulling back so that she was no longer pressed against him.

“I said that it looks like I’m gonna learn about that Martian culture after all,” she repeated, looking at him with a small smile on her face. “And I would be honored to join your family.”

As soon as those words left her lips, J’onn let his grip on the closing bond drop, happily allowing it to solidify. Anyssa felt the ‘click’ that meant that their time together was near its end.

She pulled herself back into his arms, giving him the tightest hug she could. Then, just as she felt herself starting to fade, she tiptoed and laid a quick kiss on J’onn’s strong chin. “If you’re gonna be around me, you got to smile more,” she said playfully. “Promise?”

He gave her a soft smile and agreed, “Yes, gl’ae’da.” That was the last thing she saw before she vanished. Once she was gone, he turned to the home of his past and for the first time in a long time; he felt a sense of peace.

As his surroundings began to fade, he caught sight of something that almost made his heart stop. There, fading with the rest of the house, stood My’ria’h with his two children. His sons stood on each side of their mother, smiling and waving at him. My’ria’h was smiling too. “Live well, J’onn.” He heard whispered on the winds. Whether they were just memories or spirits, J’onn would never know as the house and all around it vanished and the world beyond the dreams beckoned.

**8::8::8**

The beep of the machines droned on, their sound becoming almost hypnotic and as Superman stood there in front of the barrier chamber, he wondered how long this would take. This whole thing with Anyssa and their mental link was making him anxious. Though he wanted to help her with all his being, the truth was that he was frightened by the prospect of the bond proceeding beyond the mental. _‘And just how far into the physical could it go?’_ he wondered. _‘A simple touch from time to time? A kiss? Or would more be needed? Would I have to have sex with a complete stranger?’_ All of those were questions that Clark had been contemplating ever since J’onn went into the chamber two hours ago. The same questions he still hadn’t been able to answer. The same questions that left Clark feeling nervous, though slightly intrigued.

Clark’s thoughts were disturbed when he felt the air shift suddenly, signaling the arrival of his fellow teammate and speedster, Wally West. Normally a rather happy-go-lucky person, it was strange to see him so solemn while he gazed into the room. While Wally stood there, Clark waited for the one question he knew was coming. “Any change?”

“The same, just like it was ten minutes ago, and ten minutes before that,” he informed, chuckling a little at his friend’s antics. “Why don’t you go lay down? You’ve been running around the Watchtower for the better part of the hour.”

“I’m too wired to sleep, Sups. I’m nervous about what Anyssa’s decision gonna be. Heck, I’ve been jogging around the tower trying to burn off some of this nervous energy,” Wally replied.

 _‘Ah, well that explained why he was stopping here every ten minutes. The Chamber must be the last stop on his_ jog _,’_ Clark deduced, as he turned his attention back to the Chamber’s occupants. After a few seconds, he expected to feel the tailwind from Flash’s departure as he had many times before, but a glance to his right proved otherwise.

There stood Flash—his mask removed, red hair disheveled—staring into the room. Though curious to know why Wally remained there, Clark decided to leave him to his thoughts and returned to his own. After about two minutes, Flash asked, “What do you think she’ll do, Clark? I mean she can’t want to die, not with two studs out here waiting for her. Well, okay, three if you can get Bats out of the cave.”

Clark found himself laughing at his friend’s wit, glad for the minute’s distraction. Once he finished laughing, he seriously considered Flash’s question. “I don’t know what she’ll decide, Wally. Only —” The sounds from around Clark, even his own voice, faded, and a strange, loud _‘click’_ resonated throughout the depths. Once the echoes cleared, Clark could hear again.

“Um, what the heck was that?” Flash asked, looking towards the man of steel.

“I don’t know... It must have something to do with Anyssa. It’s possible that it was J’onn snapping the link,” the man of steel surmised.

“B-but that means...” Wally shook his head, furiously denying that train of thought. “No, I don’t believe that!”

“Well, I think we’re about to find out. Call Bruce. J’onn’s waking up.”

**8::8::8**

The first thing that J’onn experienced upon his return to the real world was someone talking to him, talking to him at a rapid pace. _‘That can only be Flash,’_ J’onn concluded. Once he opened his eyes, his assumption was confirmed in the form of Flash standing over him, worry etched on his unmasked face.

“J’onn, are you okay? Is she gone? Did she decide to stay?” Flash asked, in rapid succession.

With a groan, J’onn slowly sat up. It was then that he noticed that Flash wasn’t the only one there. Superman was on the other side of his bed, looking both anxious and tired. Though not as verbal as their swift teammate, the tense set of his shoulders told J’onn how worried he was about the outcome. J’onn then noticed something else; the rapid questioning had ceased.

He looked back to his left to see Flash standing there, no longer talking, waiting for his answer. “I am fine, Wally, and she lives,” he declared. Those words brought an interesting mix of emotions to Wally’s face. There was relief, as seen by the way his face fell from its tense frown. There was also happiness and something else, something J’onn couldn’t identify at the moment. Perhaps, he’d ask Wally about it later.

“So, she’s alright?” asked Clark. Gazing back at the Kryptonian, J’onn nodded and noticed the change in his stature. Shoulders no longer stiff with worry and nerves, the Kryptonian turned to the person in the neighboring bed and whispered, “Thank goodness.”

Though their relief touched him, he had something he must do. Standing from his bed, J’onn made his body incorporeal until he felt himself sinking through the floor, despite his friends’ shouts to stop. Once through the floor, J’onn regained his corporeal form and with the use of his senses flew to his destination. Soon, he stopped before a door and knocked. A voice beyond the door called for him to enter. The door opened to a room enveloped in darkness, and as J’onn stepped through the doorway, the room illuminated.

There sat Batman facing the computer. The man took some steps to shut the system down, stood up and began walking towards J’onn. “I got the call that you were awake. What did she decide?” he asked, stopping a couple of feet from J’onn.

“She has decided to live. She awaits you,” J’onn said. He moved to the side and held his hands in a gesture for Batman to proceed. The Dark Knight, silent as ever, made his way out the door. As he was about to turn the corner, going towards the lift, J’onn’s voice stopped him. “Bruce, I do not know why, but she seems to fear your reaction to this situation. All I ask is that you keep an open mind to this and to her.”

“I always do, J’onn. As for her being afraid, she’s has good reason to be.” With that, Batman continued on his way to the barrier chamber, to Anyssa Jordan, and to what awaited him in the depths of his mind.

**8::8::8**

End of Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note on Stilus Bellicus: I couldn’t find any names given to the invaders on Justice League, so I researched J’onn and found that his race had enemies called White Martians. Since the invaders in ‘Secret Origins’ were designed with the White Martians in mind, I decided to give them that title. Stilus Bellicus is Latin for White Martian.


	6. The Beginning Is the End

“…” – talking

 _‘Hello’_ – thoughts

**8::8::8**

Disclaimer: Justice League and other DC characters don’t belong to me. The original characters such as Anyssa and the plot do belong to me so please ask before using.

Thanks to ShadowsGrace, paprika90, ameliatomashi, Morgomir, Raeneflovescandy, and Frozen Amarillis for reviewing!

**8::8::8**

_Last time on **A Link to Justice** :_

_“Um, hi. I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I’m Anyssa.” She held out her hand to him and said, “Nice to meet you.”_

_The alien took her hand, shaking it firmly. “J’onn J’onzz. It is a nice to meet you also,” he replied._

_Anyssa listened, quite astounded by what she was being told. “So, you mean this is all my fault? But how? I’m just an empath with barely there telepathy! How could this have happened?!” she moaned, head in her hands._

_“I am sorry that we could not prevent this, but you must make decision.”_

_And it was some decision. Either allow herself to be ‘disconnected’ from the League, ultimately killing herself or choose to live and be linked, perhaps physically linked, to four strangers for the rest of her life._

_“It is my sh’la’th. There is no honor or pride to be found in that,” he said, sadly. “Sh’la’th?”_

_“My duty, my penance for my failure,” he said. He saw she was about to ask what he meant, but he held up a hand to forestall her questions. “I have already failed to save my family. Then, I failed in guarding the Stilus Bellicus during their hibernation. I knew that their next target would be Earth and I couldn’t let my failures cause the destruction of another world. I promised to do everything in my power to protect this planet, and I will continue to do so.”_

_“You call the League your family. If I complete this bond, I’m gonna become a part of that family, whether all of you like it or not. Believe me; I know from experience that being forced upon someone is no way to endear you to them. What kind of future can I expect if I’m bound to people that hate me, huh?” she asked, her voice no longer shaking with fear, but anger._

_“He also told me not to let you die without knowing that we would be there for you,” he continued, cutting off whatever she was going to say, fearing what she was about to say._

_It was to his relief when she asked, “Is that really how you all feel?”_

_“Flash and Superman have expressed such support. I had intended to remain neutral, but having met and talked to you, I agree with them.”_

_“And Batman? How does he feel about this?”_

_“Batman was the first to suggest this idea, and he agreed, but ...”_

_“But you don’t know how he feels about it,” she finished for him._

_“She has decided to live. She awaits you,” J’onn said. He moved to the side and held his hands in a gesture for Batman to proceed. The Dark Knight, silent as ever, made his way out the door. As he was about to turn the corner, going towards the lift, J’onn’s voice stopped him. “Bruce, I do not know why, but she seems to fear your reaction to this situation. All I ask is that you keep an open mind to this and to her.”_

_“I always do, J’onn. As for her being afraid, she’s has good reason to be.”_

**8::8::8**

Her next destination wasn’t much of a surprise, though she wasn’t expecting this new appearance. It was GothamCity, but not the city as Anyssa knew it.  This Gotham was a blast to a time before Anyssa was even born.

The cars that drove the streets were at least 25 years old. It wasn’t just the cars that were different, the people and buildings were different too. An old time movie theater stood to the right of the street, lights flashing for its newest attraction.

 _‘Wait a minute... I know that theater,’_ she realized. She _did_ know the place, but it and most of the other buildings around it were condemned the last time she saw them. It was no wonder because that theater was right in the middle of Dickson Avenue, better known by the less favorable moniker, ‘Crime Alley.’

In her time, Crime Alley rarely had people walk the streets in the daytime, let alone after dark for fear of what may come out of the shadows. Unlike now, where people, though few, were coming and going about their business. In a way, she envied them their peace. It was something that was missing in her time, in her Gotham. It was something she hoped would return one day. _‘Maybe with Batman around it could happen...’_ Anyssa thought with a smile, but that smile quickly disappeared in the face of another question.

Where _was_ Batman?

Because of the time-frame and the peaceful surroundings, she didn’t expect to see him in his normal fare. Heck, he was possibly one of the people on the street with her. _‘How in the world am I gonna find him?’_ she pondered. True, she could go wondering around the dreamscape, but that wasn’t what she _felt_ was needed. No, whatever or whoever she needed to see or meet was here, somewhere close by. She looked around the street and sidewalks with nothing noticeable in sight.

It wasn’t until the movie theater let out that something _very_ noticeable caught her attention. A family of three—mother, father, and son—stepped out. They seemed happy, having seen a great movie. Nothing about them should have caught her notice. Nothing, except for the fact that the boy and his parents were gray. It wasn’t that their skin was gray; it was as if their entire figures, clothes and all, had shifted to the grayscale of a black-and-white picture.

Since no one else seemed to notice the difference, Anyssa decided to follow them at a distance, of course. And by distance, she meant across the street and slightly behind the happy family. As they broke away from the crowd, Anyssa grew more anxious, though she couldn’t pinpoint why. When they turned down an alleyway, the anxiousness turned into full blown panic. Deciding that it was possibly best to get closer, in case she could help, she began making her way to the family.

She was halfway across the street when the shot rang out, shocking her into motionlessness. There was a small scream before another shot resounded, ending the cry before it could draw attention to the alley. _‘Oh, god! The kid!’_ she thought as she jolted her body into movement, across the rest of the street and into the alleyway. The scene that met her stopped her breath.

There, no longer gray to her vision, laid the parents, dead in the filthy alley with their son standing over them. The boy was also no longer gray as if the deaths of his parents had changed him. Her heart went out to him. She had an idea of what he was going through, especially since she’d gone through something very similar. She started to reach out to him. Her hand was nearly touching his shoulder when the boy suddenly turned to face her. Where she expected tears and pleas from a child that had just lost his parents, she found an emotionless mask. While tears ran steadily down his cheeks, no other facial expressions betrayed what he could be feeling. It was a little disturbing, and the fact that Anyssa couldn’t gleam anything emotionally from him, was equally disturbing.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” the child said, voice just as cold and emotionless as his face. The way he spoke, so devoid of emotion after such a traumatic event surprised Anyssa and his words confused her even more.

“What?” The child before her vanished, not answering her question. Then a voice, deeper, repeated, “You’re not supposed to be here,” from behind her. Startled, she turned and jumped back, not sure who she would find at her back. At first she didn’t see him, but on second glance to her left, hidden in the shadow of the alley, was the Batman.

Anyone who lived in Gotham, or even Metropolis, knew of him. His vigilantism made him a hero to those that lived or worked in the bad parts of Gotham. Though he spent some of his time with the Justice League, it seemed that Gotham was in his heart, and from what she’d just seem it was a wonder. If those were his parents, why did he stay? Why did he go out night after night to defend a city that had taken so much him? What was probably bothering her most was the real question.

Why couldn’t _she_ stay when he could?

The answer was simple. He was braver than she was. Anyssa snapped out of her thoughts when something tugged at her wrist. She followed the length of her arm up until she found the subject of her thoughts, pulling her from the alley. “Were those your parents?” she asked as she struggled to keep up with him.

Without breaking his stride or his grip on her right wrist, he replied, “That is none of your business.”

 _‘Well, that was a resounding yes. As for it being none of my business... that was different story.’_ She dug in her heels and tried to wrench her wrist from his hold. “Let go! Hold on a minute!” she said. When he continued to drag her wherever with nary a reply, she continued, “It’s not my fault I got dropped here. If you want to blame someone for me being here, look in the mirror. This is _your_ mind, after all.” Whether what she said surprised him or he was just tired of her struggles, he let her go.

Whatever the reason she was glad he’d stopped. Maybe now she’d be able to get some answers. “Were those your parents?” she asked again, hoping he would be more cooperative this time around.

“Yes,” he answered simply.

“Did they ever catch the guy that did it?”

“No,” he answered, succinctly. He voice while devoid of emotion had grown colder somehow.

That cold was something that Anyssa understood very well. It was the hatred of not knowing. Not knowing if the person you passed on the street was the one. The one who had taken away a part of your life before their time, before you were ready. It was a cold that could set your determination. It was different for everyone. Some became wild, always looking for a thrill, while others looked inward never to interact with society again. It had happened to her. She remembered turning inward for a time before focusing on her studies. As she looked at him, she could tell that it was one thing that they all had in common: anger.

While the cold of hatred gave focus, the burning heat of anger gave drive. Her anger got her through college ahead of time. The man before her personified his anger, giving it a form that could strike out at the criminal element without fear of persecution in his real life. In a way, she envied him. “I’m sorry about that,” she said, sincerely.

“It was a long time ago, and none of your business.”

At that, Anyssa could feel herself getting angry. Not being able to hold it in, she said, “That is a bunch of crap! You’re the second guy that’s just shrugged off the events of the past as if it doesn’t matter!” With each word, she marched closer to the masked man until she was almost nose to nose with him. “Furthermore, if it was none of my business, then _your_ dreamscape wouldn’t have dropped me here,” she argued, jabbing her pointer finger at his chest.

He looked down at the finger at his chest, then back up to its owner. Though not one to back down from confrontation, especially if she was in the right, she decided to give a little. So in response to his glare, she removed her finger from its place on his chest, but made no move to back out of his personal space. He continued to glower at her, and then he said almost grudgingly, “You have a point.” It was on the tip of her tongue to say ‘I know’ and she was about to when he continued, “But you’re wrong to say that this,” he pointed back towards the alley, “doesn’t matter.”  

Now it was Anyssa’s turn to feel guilty. She knew intimately that he was right and the fact that she’d let her anger run her mouth was no excuse. She took a few steps back, giving him and herself some distance. “You’re right. I didn’t mean...” _‘Damn, this is going to hell on a rocket,’_ she thought to herself. She didn’t mean to antagonize the man; it was just... _‘Just nothing. You’re taking your nerves out on him.’_ That thought firmly in mind, she took a deep breath and started again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to suggest that their deaths didn’t matter. I just want to help, but I don’t know where to begin,” she admitted to the dark knight.

After her admission, she noticed that a silence had settled in. It was not just silence between them, but the entire dreamscape. She turned to look at her companion to find his eyes closed. She moved closer and noticed that his breaths were deep and even as if he were... _‘Meditating? But why?’_ she wondered. Meditation was normally a technique used to calm and focus an unfocused, conscious mind. Batman had taken it to an entirely new level. It brought absolute stillness to his very being!

The sheer amount of self-control to achieve this was, for lack of a better word, amazing. It was truly amazing, but eerie at the same time. The unconscious mind wasn’t meant to be so ordered. It was so that the mind had free-reign to go through its issues and desires. _‘Did the deaths of his parents do this to him? Did something else happen to happen?’_ she wondered to herself. After a minute with no reaction from him, she decided she wanted to know.  “What happened to you after your parents died? Did you go live at an orphanage or with a relative?”

His eyes snapped open and narrowed at her question. Just as suddenly, the world around resumed. Anyssa couldn’t help, but breathe a sigh of relief. Good, her question had thrown him a little. She could almost taste his reluctance to answer her question, and she had thought he wouldn’t respond to it until...

“No. A family friend was able to take over my care,” he said, his grave voice giving a hint of curiosity at her question.

“Was that person good to you?”

“Yes.”

Anyssa hesitated for a moment because she knew that was she was about to say next wasn’t going to be received well. _‘But J’onn said to be honest with him so...’_ “Then, I’m glad they’re dead,” she declared.

The next thing she felt was her back slamming against the wall and the hands squeezing her throat. With those bright, blue eyes flashing with anger at her, it was safe to say that the dark knight hadn’t taken what she’d said well.

**8::8::8**

Aboard the Watchtower, the tension was thick as the men awaited news. They weren’t standing around the barrier chamber like old ninnies. They each were doing things to help pass the time. Wally was once again running through the space-station. Clark had taken to quietly gazing out the window into the vastness of space with the occasional glance to Earth. J’onn decided to pass his time learning more about the newest member of his family, thanks to the file Bruce had compiled.

What he read only supported what he already knew; Anyssa was a strong woman. The fact that she was able to do well in school despite being shuffled from relative to relative meant she had an adaptability that would fit well with their group. As he read, he noticed the note about possible mystical connection. That had J’onn thinking. He did feel that there was more than a coincidence that led them to Anyssa, but contacting Dr. Fate was a topic best saved for another day. As he finished and closed the file, J’onn wondered if he should mention the file’s existence to his other teammates. After a moment’s contemplation, he decided against it. After all, the only reason he knew of the file’s existence was because Bruce had told him of it just after Superman fell victim to Anyssa’s powers. A precaution, J’onn was sure, in case Bruce fell before they could figure out what was going on. No, the others would find reading the detailed file too much of an invasion of privacy.

Decision made, J’onn go up, about to go check on his two patients, when all of sudden he couldn’t breathe.

It wasn’t that the air had been sucked from the room. No, it felt as if someone had a firm grip around his throat and refused to let go. Panic and instinct rose within as he reached up to try to get his airway to function, hoping to pull those invisible fingers from his gullet. Unfortunately, he didn’t feel the presence of anything around his neck. He quickly tried to calm his panicky breathing, desiring to save some oxygen. J’onn quickly reached out mentally to the Watchtower’s other occupants, to find them in the same situation. Through the link, he could feel an echo of the burning of their lungs along with his own, as they demanded air. He had to close the link, lest their panic bring back his own, worsening the problem.

The fuzziness on the edges of his vision wasn’t a good sign. Just as he was about to pass out, the pressure around his throat was gone. Completely vanished. Taking a couple of deep breaths to relieve the burning sensation in his lungs, J’onn found his airway to be clear. _‘Strange. I wonder...’_ He checked his suspensions and called to his teammates to meet him in Command. He had just finished double checking his findings when the tell-tale wind marking Wally’s arrival. Two seconds later, J’onn could hear Clark touch down on the deck.

“Can somebody tell me what the heck is going on here?!” Wally exclaimed, his panic obvious. J’onn couldn’t blame him because if his assumptions were correct then this is the second time Wally’s nearly died.

The man of steel placed his hands on the shoulder of his speedy companion. “Calm down, Wally. I’m sure J’onn has some idea of what’s going on,” he looked to the Martian, “Right?”

“I think I do have something. Look here.” A picture of Anyssa appeared on the screen, another image appeared alongside it. “This is Anyssa’s status two minutes ago. Her oxygen saturation started dropping rapidly and her heart rate shot to 170. It’s as if her body went into a panicked state. One minute later,” he recalled the footage of them. “We began to be affected.” As he watched himself slowly suffocate, J’onn could feel the phantom of burning lungs and the shadow of panic that had almost taken him rise up. He quickly stopped the recording and turned to his teammates.

“So, it’s like what happened last time?” Wally asked.

“Essentially, yes,” J’onn replied.

“‘Last time’?” Clark queried, a little confused by what they were talking about.

“While you were under, Flash went through a similar experience when Anyssa redlined,” J’onn explained.

“Yeah, it felt like someone had cold-cocked me for a second. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, and then it was gone.”

J’onn watched the emotions play across Clark’s face as he processed that bit of information. His eyes took on a faraway look for a second, as if he were remembering something. Then he was back, and he looked at Wally with a flash of something akin to shame. Apparently, something more happened during his encounter with Anyssa that even the Man of Steel didn’t want to talk about, something he wasn’t too proud of.

“If that’s the case,” Clark walked up to the workstation and switched the monitor to show a current view of the barrier chamber with its occupants laid out on the beds, “what in the world could be going on in there that could be choking her to death?”

The silence that followed was deafening and J’onn could sense that they all had their suspicions; however, until Anyssa and Bruce awoke that was all they would have.

**8::8::8**

As he flew through the air, thrown by Anyssa’s kick to his stomach, Bruce came back to himself. _‘What just happened?’_ he thought to himself, correcting his trajectory so that he landed on his feet. While he stood watching Anyssa lean against the wall, coughing and trying to get her breath back, Bruce reviewed the last few minutes. He recalled her asking about his parents and his life after their deaths.

His eyes narrowed, remembering her response to his answer and his actions following. He walked towards her until he stood about two feet from her. Bruce noted that her breathing had calmed and that she now rubbed her neck, undoubtedly trying to relieve the soreness his assault caused. At the sight, he felt disgust and guilt at his actions. It was a part of himself that he tried to keep hidden, buried, and he hated that this _woman_ had brought it out of him. He quickly put those feelings down. This wasn’t the time for apologies, not yet. He wanted answers.

“What did you hope to accomplish doing that?” he voice steady as he questioned.

She chuckled, her voice carrying a slight rasp to it. “That’s a nice bit of rage you got going there. Nice way to make a girl feel welcomed.” Seeing that her joke fell flat, she lost the grim and continued, “Sorry. J’onn told me to be honest, that you’d appreciate it more. As much as I hate to say it, what I said was the truth. I’ll admit that I could’ve found a better way to say it, but I wanted to see if you were so in control even when you’re anger.  I’m happy to see that you’re not.”

“Why? What is so important about that? Anger rarely has a productive outcome,” Bruce argued.

She shrugged. “It let’s me know that you’re not a cold, calculating bastard.” Bruce just stared at her, trying to determine if she was serious. When she didn’t explain herself further, he asked another question that was on his mind. “Why are you glad my parents are dead?”

She took a deep breath, gathering herself as if she’d been waiting for that question. “If they hadn’t died, I wouldn’t be here.”

Bruce was a little taken aback by that. After all, his parents died twenty years ago. So, how did their death end up affecting this woman’s life? “What do you mean?”

She sighed, and slowly rose to her feet. She raised her head and looked steadily into his eyes. “Do you remember the Riots?”

He nodded. Of course he remembered them. It was shortly after the Cataclysm, that Gotham had been declared a No Man’s Land. It was time he had doubted himself the most, but also a time that deepened his resolve to continue as Batman.

“My parents owned an electronics store on 23rd Avenue.” Bruce knew that area of Gotham. It was a little rough, not as bad as Crime Alley, but during the Riots nowhere in Gotham was really safe. She continued, her tone even, “We were going to try to make it to one of the shelters the next morning because of how bad it was getting in our area. We never got the chance.” He recognized that tone. It was similar to the one he used when he talked about his parents’ death. Underneath that emotionless attitude, there was undoubtedly sadness and anger.

“That night, the looters came. I woke up to crashing glass as they broke through the windows. Daddy ran and secured the door as best he could. Then, he had us huddle down facing the door, a shotgun in his hand and knives in ours. I remember thinking what in the world could I do with a kitchen knife and hoping I didn’t find out.

“All we could do was wait. For a while, I thought, hoped rather, that they had taken what they wanted and left. Then there was a thumping on the stairs and a hard bump against the door. The door held, but they weren’t gonna be deterred. One, two, three, four additional bumps and the door gave.

“There were three of them, two guys and a girl, none of them could have been older than twenty. Daddy pointed the gun at them and told to get out, to take anything they want. The girl stepped forward saying that they just wanted the stuff in the place, that they wouldn’t hurt us. I guess daddy didn’t believe her because when she took another step, he shot a warning shot near her foot. At first, she looked mad as hell, but then she just smiled.

“It sent chills up my back and gripping harder to the knife. She backed up and said, ‘Sure, old man. I was saving this little gift for downstairs, but that’s okay. Boys, give the man our gift.’ They tossed in a couple of bottles with the ends lit. One landed in the kitchen, the other...” She stopped her narrative. She took a few breaths, most likely to calm herself or what she was about to say.  “The other crashed at daddy’s feet. The fire rushed up, engulfing his body. His screams filled the air as he dropped to the floor, trying to put himself out. I tried to move, to help him, but it was like my body didn’t understand what my brain was telling it. Mama tried to put him out, but it was too late. He’d stopped moving and screaming. All around us the fire was spreading. Mama managed to drag me to my room and busted out the window.

“My room’s window was the only one that faced the street. It was also the only one didn’t have bars on them. Somewhere in me, I could hear her screams for help, but all I saw were the flames. Mama’s cries stopped and I could feel her pull me to the window. I look up and see you, holding your hand to us, telling her to hurry. She pushed me into your arms and told you to go before it was too late, to come back when I was safe. Do you remember what happened?” she questioned him, and for the first time since starting her narrative, she looked directly into his eyes.

He nodded his head in answer. Yes, he remembered her now. He didn’t know the circumstances leading up to it, but he did remember a dark-skinned woman screaming frantically out of a window while the building burned around her. Once he grappled to the outside of the building, the woman backed away, only to return with a young woman, presumably her daughter. He had tried to get the mother to come with them, but she insisted that he go and to come back for her. He had reluctantly agreed and no sooner than he pushed away from the building, there was an explosion. The searing heat propelled them through the air. He barely managed to land without either of them breaking any bones.

As the debris pounded the ground around them, the young woman came out of whatever shock she’d experienced screaming. He remembered holding her to keep her from the enflamed structure, lest in a fit of grief she run back into the building. He had stayed with her until some of Gordon’s men got there.

Yes, he remembered her.

“Now, do you understand? Without you as you are, I would have died that night,” she stated, matter-of-factly. He remained silent at that. He understood what she meant and didn’t fault her for it, but sometimes... He looked back toward that alley. Sometimes, he wondered... His musings were disrupted when he felt a light pressure on his left shoulder. He turned back to his companion, as she quickly took her hand back, to see a sad smile gracing her once expressionless face.

“I’m sure that they are very proud of the man you’ve become,” she said, stepping closer. She held her head up, gazing directly into his eyes as if the cowl wasn’t even there. “Gotham and the world need Batman.” She moved closer still, until her chest was close to touching his. Then to his surprise, her arms went around his waist, holding him in a tight embrace. Slowly, she tiptoed until he could feel slightest touch from her cheek next to his and her warm breath blowing close to his ear. “And when I needed him most, the Batman was there. I have waited a long time to say this to you. Thank you,” she whispered to him. Somewhere inside him, Bruce felt a warmth that was rare.

Appreciation.

In all the years of being Gotham’s Dark Knight, appreciation for his actions was a seldom thing, but when it was given he held it close, let it strengthen him in his mission. Then, he found his arms reaching up to encircle her waist, returning the embrace with as must fervor as her. It was equally rare to return such gratitude. As he held her, he felt his resolve to not regret that night as deeply strengthen. _‘Maybe this was the start of something good,’_ Bruce hoped.

Unbeknownst to either of them, the world around began to fade and change. The streets and the alley died away to be replaced with greenery. The darkness of Gotham gave way to a brighter world. Sensing that their surroundings had changed, Bruce pulled back from the hug and saw a place he had hoped to never see again.

**8::8::8**

The warmth of him was comforting, especially after reliving that horrible night. Strangely enough, she didn’t notice the changes going on around them. It wasn’t until he pulled from her that she saw the change in scenery. They were on a clean, white paved path. _‘Well, this is definitely different,_ ’ she thought. The path was covered on both sides by rose bushes. The path continued up to a gate and beyond to a white building. The strangest thing was the sign on the gate. _‘But that’s not possible..._ ’

It read ‘Arkham Asylum.’

The reason for her disbelief was that the Arkham of her Gotham was a place right out of a horror novel. This place… Something just wasn’t right about it. It was too clean, too green, and too quiet to be Arkham. She looked back to the Dark Knight and asked a very good question.

“Where the hell are we?”

To Be Continued…


	7. The Beginning Is the End, Pt. 2

“…” – talking

_‘Hello’_ – thoughts

  **—8—**

Disclaimer: Justice League and other DC characters don’t belong to me. The original characters such as Anyssa and the plot do belong to me so please ask before using.

Special Thanks to Morgomir, Dancing Leopard, Gothic-Fire-Wolf, Frozen Amarillis, and twinbuster2 for reviewing! Also thanks to everyone who read, but don’t review!

  **—8—**

_Last time on **A Link to Justice** :_

_“You’re not supposed to be here,” the child said, voice just as cold and emotionless as his face. The way he spoke, so devoid of emotion after such a traumatic event surprised Anyssa and his words confused her even more._

_“What?” The child before her vanished, not answering her question. Then a voice, deeper, repeated, “You’re not supposed to be here,” from behind her. Startled, she turned and jumped back, not sure who she would find at her back. At first she didn’t see him, but on second glance to her left, hidden in the shadow of the alley, was the Batman._

_“What happened to you after your parents died? Did you go live at an orphanage or with a relative?”_

_“No. A family friend was able to take over my care,” he said, his grave voice giving a hint of curiosity at her question._

_“Was that person good to you?”_

_“Yes.”_

_Anyssa hesitated for a moment because she knew that was she was about to say next wasn’t going to be received well._ ‘But J’onn said to be honest with him so...’ _“Then, I’m glad they’re dead,” she declared._

_The next thing she felt was her back slamming against the wall and the hands squeezing her throat._

_“Why are you glad my parents are dead?”_

_She took a deep breath, gathering herself as if she’d been waiting for that question. “If they hadn’t died, I wouldn’t be here.”_

_“Now, do you understand? Without you as you are, I would have died that night,” she stated, matter-of-factly. He remained silent at that. He understood what she meant and didn’t fault her for it, but sometimes... He looked back toward that alley. Sometimes, he wondered... His musings were disrupted when he felt a light pressure on his left shoulder. He turned back to his companion, as she quickly took her hand back, to see a sad smile gracing her once expressionless face._

_“I’m sure that they are very proud of the man you’ve become,” she said, stepping closer. She held her head up, gazing directly into his eyes as if the cowl wasn’t even there. “Gotham and the world need Batman.” She moved closer still, until her chest was close to touching his. Then to his surprise, her arms went around his waist, holding him in a tight embrace. Slowly, she tiptoed until he could feel slightest touch from her cheek next to his and her warm breath blowing close to his ear. “And when I needed him most the Batman was there. I have waited a long time to say this to you. Thank you,”_

_The strangest thing was the sign on the gate._

_It read ‘Arkham Asylum.’_

_“Where the hell are we?”_

**—8—**

“Where the hell are we?” Anyssa asked as she took in her surroundings. The clean path with the rose bushes alongside it. The neatly manicured lawn and fountain in front of the white painted building. All of this wouldn’t have been strange at all if the words on the gate hadn’t been ‘Arkham Asylum.’ Obviously they were in another dreamscape, but this was a strange, rare occasion.

Normally, a person had only one dreamscape in one instance to deal with an issue that was impacting them the most. It was truly a unique case for someone to have more than one in a single occurrence.

She turned back to her companion and asked again, “Where the hell are we ‘cause this sure isn’t Gotham.”

The costumed man was silent for a moment, and then said, “It’s Gotham.”

“But that’s—”

“Just not the Gotham we know,” he said, cutting her off. Anyssa knew the expression on her face must have been one of total astonishment and confusion. A Gotham she didn’t know? If what he said was true and this was a different Gotham, then it was certainly a better one than the one she or he had grown up in. She could feel the smile going across her face. If Arkham, the darkest shadow of GothamCity, could change into such a peaceful place, then the rest of the city _had_ to be better. Her happiness at the change in her birthplace was close to taking flight until she saw her companion’s expression.

There was no happiness, no glimpse of the man beneath the mask that she’d seen earlier. He had closed himself off emotionally once more, leaving only the Batman. So, she did the only thing she could think of to snap him out of it.

She punched him in the shoulder.

In the real world, she doubted that punch would’ve even caught his attention; however, here in a dreamscape there was a little more behind it. Maybe it wasn’t enough to knock him off his feet, but it was enough to make him stagger. When he looked at her for an explanation, she simply said, “Stop it.” She could almost see the eyebrow lift beneath the cowl.

“Stop what?” he asked. Her own brow lifted at that. If she didn’t know better, she would have said that the man sounded downright amused by her command. “You’re closing off again. Whatever this place is has you shutting down emotionally,” she turned to him, hand on her hip, and continued, “Why is that?”

“He’s afraid of this place,” a voiced answered from behind them. The pair turned to see... Batman?

The man before them had the same height, weight, and even facial structure. For all intent and purposes, this person seemed to _be_ Batman. If it wasn’t for one thing, she wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between them.

That one thing was the costume. The new arrival’s costume had forgone the gray bodysuit for one in basic black with light gray bracers. The cap and cowl were also light gray, with the cowl having a black area around the eyes. The chest of the outfit sported the bat insignia in silver rather than black.

Though he obviously wasn’t the real Batman, she had to admit he had a sense of style. “Nice suit,” she commented then turned to her companion and asked, “Okay, who is he?”

“Batman.” That was the only reply she received from ‘her’ Batman, and as she glanced back and forth between them, she could feel her head start to pound.

**—8—**

“Who is he?” she asked again. That question had many implications, but the simplest answer was...

“He is the Batman that was a member of the Justice Lords in an alternate dimension,” he turned refusing to look at the Other. “Do you remember them?” he asked.

Anyssa, without taking her eyes off the Other, replied, “Yeah, but I don’t remember seeing a Batman among them.”

“You wouldn’t. He was busy being out jailer in his world,” he explained.

“Oh.”

At that moment, the Other decided to speak. “That isn’t the whole story, is it?” the Other asked, tauntingly. “There hasn’t been anything to confirm that,” Bruce argued.

“Hasn’t there? You know what Luthor is doing. You’ve watched his every move. Step one has already begun.” He knew what the Other meant, but still Bruce refused to acknowledge it.

“No. Luthor won’t succeed. He’s done too much in our world,” Bruce expressed.

“He has many of the same things in our world, but he still managed to do it,” the Other disputed. Apparently, their back and forth discussion had gained the curiosity of their audience. “What are you two talking about?” Anyssa interrupted. Bruce ignored her. This was League business and none of her concern, never minding that he had conceded to Anyssa about that very point earlier.

The Other continued, also ignoring her, “How can you be so sure? Are you going to kill him before he kills Flash?” His ire rose at the very suggestion that the Other made. Did he really think that he would kill just to prevent some that _might_ happen?

The tiny gasp to his right drew Bruce’s attention back to the woman beside him. Her milk-chocolate skin had paled to mocha, dark brown eyes wide with shock and disbelief at what she’d just heard. “W-what?” she stammered. “Lex Luthor’s gonna kill Wally? But, how... how could you possibly know that?!” She screamed as she nearly lunged at the Other. Bruce grabbed her before she could complete her action, one arm grasping her across her chest, the other arm wrapped around her waist. His actions were based on two things. Firstly, he didn’t want Anyssa to get hurt in her attack against the Other in case he decided to strike back. Lastly, he was unsure what kind of effect an attack against the Other would have on his mind.

As she struggled in his grip, demanding answers from the Other, he concluded that he was going to have to explain everything to her and he hated it. He hated that this situation was forcing him to reveal something he’d hoped to have more evidence about before presenting it to the League, but now that options were gone. “Anyssa,” he said, trying to get her to stop her struggle. “Anyssa!” he called again, this time getting her attention. He turned her around to face him.

Though still somewhat pale, she was slowly getting her complexion back. Her eyes were still wide as she fought back the tears, but they reflected her to determination to listen and learn the truth. Those eyes brought him up short. They were the same kind of eyes he’d seen many times in the mirror. “Listen to me okay?” She nodded her head in the affirmative. “I have been theorizing about the incident with the Justice Lords for some time. In their world, Luthor became President and began a superpower arms race. In the course of it, Luthor executed Flash. The Lords retaliated and their Superman killed Luthor, and then proceeded to bring the world under their rule.”

“But what does all that have to do with our Flash getting killed by Lex Luthor?” she questioned, still sounding somewhat angry and confused. Bruce couldn’t blame her; none of these facts seemed to add up to the death of his speedy teammate. Perhaps, this next fact would shed some light it.

“Luthor is making a bid for the Presidency.” She thought about it for a while, then he watched her eyes widen, obviously reaching the same conclusion he had. “Yes. The Justice Lords didn’t come from an alternate dimension. They came from a possible future and with Luthor running for President that future seems more and more likely to happen.”

He studied her as the full impact of what he’d said hit her. Her head bowed, he continued to watch as the tears slid silently down her cheeks. For a few moments, she continued to cry, and then she nodded, coming to a decision about something and wiped the tears from her face and eyes. Having gotten herself together, she looked back up at him and said firmly, “We’re not gonna let it happen.” That sharpness of her eyes, the set line of her jaw told him something, something unbelievable. She wasn’t going to lose in this. _‘Did she really care about Wally, about them all so deeply, so soon?’_ he wondered. An unknown weight seemed to lift from him, and he realized something.

Her reaction to this was important to him. He needed to see if she was strong enough to be a part of them, to be willing to fight. He felt himself grinning. Her declaration was reminiscent of Clark’s ‘good will prevail’ attitude, but he knew that wasn’t all there was to her. She had willingness to fight came from a place that he knew very well: in the cruel truth that the innocent weren’t always saved.

“How do you propose ‘we’ stop it?” he asked.

She shrugged and said, “I don’t know. Does the rest of the League know about this?” Bruce shook his head in the negative. “Then we tell them and go from there. After all, it doesn’t make sense for you to handle this alone when it involves the entire League.”

He had to agree with her point, besides it’s possible that the others would have some ideas.

“Nice to see that there’s a plan,” the Other decided to speak. She looked at him for a moment then back to me. She tilted her head a little to the left as if something puzzled her. Curious, Bruce asked, “What?”

Shaking her head, she said, “Nothing.” Knowing that wasn’t the case, he tried again. “Miss Jordan—”

“Anyssa,” she corrected.

Bruce sighed; he hated being interrupted. “Anyssa, what is it?”

She bit her bottom lip, obviously unsure how welcomed her question would be received and given there previous experience, he couldn’t blame her. “It’s just... why him?” she nodded toward the Other, who just smirked as if he held more secrets than him.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if it was just the Justice Lords that was bothering you, why aren’t they all here?”

She had a valid question. Yes, he hated the Justice Lords or rather he hated their methods. They had let the death of a teammate skew their sense of morality beyond recognition. With their morality mangled, their methods of enforcing ‘justice’ became the stuff of nightmares. More to the point, Anyssa was right. Why was _this_ particular Justice Lord here to greet them? As soon as he asked himself the question he knew the answer.

Hate.

There were a lot of things about this ‘clean’ Gotham he hated: The spineless president, the compliant people, the Justice Lords. All of them had a hand in this, but most of all...

“He hates me the most. Don’t you, Bruce?” the Other said, finished his thought.

“What? Why?” That revelation seemed to surprise Anyssa, as it clearly not the answer she was expecting.

The Other looked at Bruce, its earlier smirk becoming a cocky grin. The bastard was enjoying laying all his secrets out for her to see. “Do you want to answer or should I?” the Other asked, voice heavy with amusement. At the moment if he had thought it would shut the Other up, Bruce may have risked the damage and knocked that grin off its face.

**—8—**

_‘If the look Batman gave the other Batman could kill, there would be a smoking crater where the new masked man stood,’_ Anyssa thought as she gazed back and forth between the two. The other Batman, which she decided to call B2, continued to grin, waiting for an answer. An answer Anyssa doubted was coming, especially given Batman’s previous secrecy. In spite of everything that point to it, Batman hasn’t told other League members his speculation, which concerned them all. It was highly doubtful he would explain something as personal as his own demons. _‘This could prove more difficult,’_ she thought as a frown crossed her lips.

She glanced at B2. He just stood there, rarely interacting with them, observing them, and waiting for the appropriate time to act. Then, a thought struck her. _‘Maybe that was why he was here, to say the truths that Batman refuses to,’_ she concluded. After all, Batman’s concerns were ones that shouldn’t be handled alone, despite his best efforts, but this hatred was something more personal, kept close to the vest and never shared. Perhaps B2’s presence _could_ shed a little light on the Batman, but Anyssa had a feeling that much more would still be shrouded in darkness.

“Why do you hate him, Batman?” she asked again, hoping he would answer this time. The silence following made Anyssa think nothing was forthcoming, then...

“He betrayed the Mission.”

_‘Mission?’_ “What mission?” she asked, unsure of what he meant.

“The mission to bring the criminals to justice, so that another child won’t have their parents taken from them. The mission to not enforce his own justice on the guilty. He betrayed that,” Batman explained. Anyssa was caught off-guard by the sheer passion in that decree. Before she could ask more about it, B2 decided to share his opinion.

“Tsk, tsk,” B2 said, shaking his head. “So close, so close,” he began walking closer to them.

The sound of something creaking down and to her left made her turn her head. The creaking was the sound of gloved fingers balling into a tight fist. Anyssa looked to his face to see the emotionless mask back in place, the previous fury hidden. _‘Well, mostly,’_ she thought glancing back towards the fisted glove. Though she couldn’t see what he was feeling, she could certainly _feel_ a lot of emotions coming from him. Most were emotions she expected: anger, frustration, annoyance, with hate being at the top, but something smaller hid underneath them. She dug a little deeper and what she found confused her most.

Shame. Shame linked directly to hate.

As B2 stopped less than an arm’s length from Batman’s position, Anyssa continued to hear those creaks. Anyssa quickly grasped his tight fist in her left hand, hoping to convey some support to her companion. B2, still grinning, spoke then, “He hates that I betrayed the mission, but he hates it even more that he was tempted.” Anyssa only felt his body shift a second before Batman’s left fist punched B2 in the jaw. B2 backed up, still grinning, touching his jaw to rub the soreness away.

Batman tried to go after him again, but Anyssa’s tighten grip on his fist and her yell to “Stop!” brought him up short. Still, Batman said nothing. Now, it was Anyssa’s turn.

She decided it time they got to the heart of this. “Is what he said the truth?” Batman looked at her as if saying ‘How dare you ask that?!' She met his gaze with one of her own. Her brow lifted as if to ask, ‘Is it?’ He must have seen that she wasn’t going to let it go because he just nodded and averted his eyes.

She knew that it took a lot out of him to admit that, but she wasn’t going to stop there. “What did he tempt you with?” she asked, feeling that they were at last close to the issue. Again, he remained silent, eyes intent on B2. “Batman!” she shouted to bring his attention back to her. “Please... you need to tell me.”

“Why? What could be so significant about it that _you_ have to know about it?” His narrowed eyes once again back to the other Batman.

“I don’t know, but holding on to it seems to be what got us here in the first place,” she explained. She moved in front of him, blocking his view of B2, and reached for his left hand while raising the right. Bringing both hands close to her, she whispered, “I know that it’s hard to reveal something so personal, but I swear that whatever secrets you want to keep will never leave my lips as long as I live. Please... trust me.”

She didn’t know why she wanted him to trust her. She didn’t know why she wanted it so much. Maybe it was the bond making itself known or something else, but as his silence persisted despair started to creep into her. She jumped as he suddenly snatched his hands from her grasped turning his back to her. That one action invoked a sense of disappointment in her. _‘Did he really distrust me that much? Is this what it will be like linked to this man?’_ she thought to herself while hoping against hope that this wouldn’t be the case. _‘What in the world could be so important?’_ she wondered. Little did she know that her question was soon to be answered.

“I wasn’t tempted by anything. I was tempted to let them finish what they’d started in our world. I was tempted to let him win!” Batman finally said; his voice a deep growl of frustration and guilt. That admission was accompanied by a faint “Finally” that Anyssa heard coming from behind her.

She turned to see B2 standing to his full height and watched his costume change, becoming the splitting image of _her_ Batman. It was finally all starting to make sense. The shame and hatred she’d sensed earlier weren’t toward the Justice Lord, but rather at himself. All of this was a rather extreme case of self-loathing. The first dreamscape fed off of his sense of betrayal in his mission; making him relive the reason behind it. The current dreamscape they were residing in brought the subject and cause of the self-loathing to the light. _‘It was truly amazing,’_ she thought. _‘All of this spawned from one moment of_ weakness _.’_

All she could do was shake her head in astonishment. She reached out with her right hand and touched his left shoulder in a move to get his attention and convey, what she hoped was, some comfort. “You need to stop hating yourself for this.”

**—8—**

“How can you say that?” Bruce said, his mind working its way through what she’d said.

She shrugged and said, “Easy.” She pointed at the Other. “Look at who your opponent was. Batman. This wasn’t the everyday Gotham freaks. This was you.” Bruce didn’t like the comparison, but decided not to comment on it. Besides, he was curious to see how her mind worked.

His silence must have signified some disbelief because she elaborated. “The Justice Lord knew you; heck if your theory is right, a few years ago he _was_ you. How would you beat an opponent you find yourself to be evenly or unevenly matched against?”

Bruce understood where she was going with this. After all, he had done similar things against adversaries such as Amazo, Clayface, and the Royal Flush Gang. “Simple. Discover your opponent’s weakness and use it your advantage,” he answered.

She nodded. “And when he found that he couldn’t beat you he went for your vulnerabilities. I’m sure it wasn’t hard; he knew where to strike.”

Her words may have explained it, but they did nothing assuage his feelings on the matter. He said just as much to her. “I know that, but the fact still remains that we both betrayed the mission. That is something I’ll have to live with.”

“But you’re not living with it, you’re letting this eat at you and I don’t know why. Temptation is a part of being human. The true test is whether you give into it. You didn’t submit, so why are you torturing yourself?” She sounded genuinely concerned and curious about it. Perhaps it was his turn to educate her.

“Have you ever done something that you regret?” he asked, looking her squarely in the eyes. She nodded and said, “Of course.”

“How did you feel about it afterward?” Her eyes became distant as if focusing on some long-forgotten memory. “I hated myself for doing it, apologetic, but as time went on those feelings faded. At least until something or someone reminds me of it.”

“Exactly.”

“Huh?” Anyssa said, confused.

“Every night I put on this costume I am reminded of what I did,” Bruce explained to the confused woman.

That seemed to clarify his meaning for her because she fired back with “I understand that. There are things that I regret doing, but I don’t hate myself for them, at least not anymore.” Her dark eyes narrowed in evenly dark suspicion. “You’re not letting the hate fade. Why?”

Bruce didn’t know why he was revealing so much of himself to her, but he felt that he had to make her understand, to make her understand him, so he explained. “I have to remember, to hold on to it in order to keep it all fresh in my memory. The old adage says, _‘Forget the past, be doomed to repeat it’_ and I refuse to become _him_.” He had to admit to himself that his voice sounded as wary of all of this as he felt. So, it is no surprise that the touch of soft fingertips on his exposed cheek startled him.

_‘When had she moved?’_ he wondered. He looked into the face of his companion. The slight lift of her lips told of her wariness also, but her eyes shone so bright with hope, hope for him.

“You will never have to worry about that,” she said softly, removing her hand. Intrigued, Bruce motioned for her to continue. “You got something that is truly rare; a glimpse into your own future. You didn’t like what you saw, but the best thing about it is you have time to change it. Heck, just by knowing the future you’re changing it for yourself.”

“And for the others?” he asked.

She gave a sheepish smile and said, “Um, well, that’s probably gonna take something on a _slightly_ larger scale.” She spaced her forefinger and thumb about a centimeter apart.

He could only stare at her as he listened. Her explanation and innocent gestures made Bruce do something he’d rarely done as Batman.

**—8—**

Anyssa really couldn’t believe her eyes or her ears. In fact, what she was witnessing was slightly creepy even if it was a good sign.

The Dark Knight of Gotham was laughing.

It wasn’t the type of laughter used to scare or intimidate, but a regular honest-to-goodness laugh. Anyssa didn’t know what to make of it. _‘Was he laughing at her or something else,’_ she wondered. She crossed her arms, waiting for him to finish. When he finally did he took a good look at her face. Anyssa realized she must have looked annoyed because he reached out to her left shoulder and said, “You’re right.”

_That_ caught her off guard. He’d fought her in everything else, why not this? “This is something for a larger scale,” he said. Her frown deepened. _‘Was that all he got from this?’_ she thought as she looked into those masked eyes. “And I promise to reflect on what you’ve said about this rest,” he said just as sincerely as he’d said anything to her.

Slowly, the hand lying on her shoulder moved to her cheek. She leaned into the caress, and smiled as the tell-tale _click_ resounded through her mind. _‘Time to go, but just one last question...’_ she mused.

“Before I go, do you mind answering one thing? Just who is the man behind the Bat?” she asked, as she began to feel herself fade from the dreamscape. That enigmatic smile appeared on his face.

“You really want to know who the man is?” At her nod, he continued, “Then you’ll have to wake up to meet him.”

With that parting shot, all she could do before she vanished was stick her tongue out at him.

Her departure left the men alone.

The Other as Bruce had referred to him changed forms once again. This time he changed into the debonair form of businessman Bruce Wayne. He adjusted his tie, as he got more comfortable in his new and true form. “I think that went well,” the Other said, wearing a carefree smile.

Bruce wasn’t smiling. “That was a dangerous game to play. What if I hadn’t found her to be trustworthy?”

“It was fun. Besides, the only way she’d have found out is if you wanted her to, right, _Bruce_?” Bruce only stared at the Other, refusing to dignify that question with a response; however as he faded from the dreamscape he couldn’t shake the sense of satisfaction.

Now alone, the Other finally said what they really thought. “I like her. I think we’re in for some interesting times,” he said, smirking as he put his hands in his pockets and walked down the hill away from a fading Arkham.

**—8—**

**End of Chapter 7!**


	8. Epilogue: “Upon Awakening”

“…” – talking

_‘Hello’_ – thoughts

**—8—**

Disclaimer: Justice League and other DC characters don’t belong to me. The original characters such as Anyssa and the plot do belong to me so please ask before using.

Note: There will be a sequel. As soon as I work out the details of the plot, I will begin writing. Also a bit of warning, the next story will be much more adult than this turned out to be and will be my first story of such, so it might take me a while. 

Special Thanks to Morgomir, Frozen Amarillis, Ghost Girl Sora, twinbuster2, and Neko-chan for reviewing! Also thanks to everyone who read, but don’t review!

**—8—**

_Last time on **A Link to Justice** :_

_She turned back to her companion and asked again, “Where the hell are we ‘cause this sure isn’t Gotham.”_

_The costumed man was silent for a moment, and then said, “It’s Gotham.”_

_“But that’s—”_

_“Just not the Gotham we know,” he said, cutting her off._

_“You’re closing off again. Whatever this place is has you shutting down emotionally,” she turned to him, hand on her hip, and continued, “Why is that?”_

_“He’s afraid of this place,” a voiced answered from behind them. The pair turned to see... Batman?_

_“Who is he?” she asked again. That question had many implications, but the simplest answer was..._

_“He is the Batman that was a member of the Justice Lords in an alternate dimension,” he turned refusing to look at the Other._

_“No. Luthor won’t succeed. He’s done too much in our world,” Bruce expressed._

_“He has many of the same things in our world, but he still managed to do it,” the Other disputed. Apparently, their back and forth discussion had gained the curiosity of their audience. “What are you two talking about?” Anyssa interrupted. Bruce ignored her. This was League business and none of her concern, never minding that he had conceded to Anyssa about that very point earlier._

_The Other continued, also ignoring her, “How can you be so sure? Are you going to kill him before he kills Flash?” His ire rose at the very suggestion that the Other made. Did he really think that he would kill just to prevent some that_ might _happen?_

_“Well, if it was just the Justice Lords that was bothering you, why aren’t they all here?”_

_She had a valid question. Yes, he hated the Justice Lords or rather he hated their methods. They had let the death of a teammate skew their sense of morality beyond recognition. With their morality mangled, their methods of enforcing ‘justice’ became the stuff of nightmares. More to the point, Anyssa was right. Why was_ this _particular Justice Lord here to greet them? As soon as he asked himself the question he knew the answer._

_Hate._

_There were a lot of things about this ‘clean’ Gotham he hated: The spineless president, the compliant people, the Justice Lords. All of them had a hand in this, but most of all..._

_“He hates me the most. Don’t you, Bruce?” the Other said, finished his thought._

_“What? Why?” That revelation seemed to surprise Anyssa, as it clearly not the answer she was expecting._

_“He betrayed the Mission.”_

_‘Mission?’ “What mission?” she asked, unsure of what he meant._

_“The mission to bring the criminals to justice, so that another child won’t have their parents taken from them. The Mission to not enforce his own justice on the guilty. He betrayed that,” Batman explained. Anyssa was caught off-guard by the sheer passion in that decree. Before she could ask more about it, B2 decided to share his opinion._

_“Tsk, tsk,” B2 said, shaking his head. “So close, so close,” he began walking closer to them._

_B2, still grinning, spoke then, “He hates that I betrayed the Mission, but he hates it even more that he was tempted.” Anyssa only felt his body shift a second before Batman’s left fist punched B2 in the jaw. B2 backed up, still grinning, touching his jaw to rub the soreness away._

_She decided it time they got to the heart of this. “Is what he said the truth?”_

_“I wasn’t tempted by anything. I was tempted to let them finish what they’d started in our world. I was tempted to let him win!” Batman finally said; his voice a deep growl of frustration and guilt. That admission was accompanied by a faint “Finally” that Anyssa heard coming from behind her._

_She turned to see B2 standing to his full height and watched his costume change, becoming the splitting image of_ her _Batman. It was finally all starting to make sense. The shame and hatred she’d sensed earlier weren’t toward the Justice Lord, but rather at himself. All of this was a rather extreme case of self-loathing. The first dreamscape fed off of his sense of betrayal in his mission; making him relive the reason behind it. The current dreamscape they were residing in brought the subject and cause of the self-loathing to the light._

_“The Justice Lord knew you; heck if your theory is right, a few years ago he was you...”_

_Bruce didn’t know why he was revealing so much of himself to her, but he felt that he had to make her understand, to make her understand him, so he explained. “I have to remember, to hold on to it in order to keep it all fresh in my memory. The old adage says,_ ‘Forget the past, be doomed to repeat it’ _and I refuse to become_ him.”

_“You will never have to worry about that,” she said softly, removing her hand. Intrigued, Bruce motioned for her to continue. “You got something that is truly rare; a glimpse into your own future. You didn’t like what you saw, but the best thing about it is you have time to change it. Heck, just by knowing the future you’re changing it for yourself.”_

_The Other as Bruce had referred to him changed forms once again. This time he changed into the debonair form of businessman Bruce Wayne. He adjusted his tie, as he got more comfortable in his new and true form. “I think that went well,” the Other said, wearing a carefree smile._

_Bruce wasn’t smiling. “That was a dangerous game to play. What if I hadn’t found her to be trustworthy?”_

_“It was fun. Besides, the only way she’d have found out is if you wanted her to, right,_ Bruce _?” Bruce only stared at the Other, refusing to dignify that question with a response; however as he faded from the dreamscape he couldn’t shake the sense of satisfaction._

_Now alone, the Other finally said what they really thought. “I like her. I think we’re in for some interesting times,” he said, smirking as he put his hands in his pockets and walked down the hill away from a fading Arkham._

**—8—**

The world around her was dark, lonesome. The last thing she remembered was the dream. The dream with its many worlds and morose faces. She wanted to help them, felt that she _could_ help them. Though she didn’t remember the details at this moment, she felt that she _had_ somehow helped them. But now that the dream was over, where did that leave her?

As if the question was the trigger, she could hear something. It was slight, but the more she focused on it, the closer the sound became until finally she was able to recognize the words spoken.

“How long before she wakes up, J’onn?” a young, excited male voice questioned. The sound of that voice brought such a sense of relief to her, but why? She knew that the voice was familiar, but she didn’t really understand why. It was for that curiosity more than anything that she began to open her eyes. Slowly, the world around her became lighter. At first, the light was blinding, and then something moved into her view, effectively blocking the light.

She blinked a few times to try to clear her vision until she could see the person above her plainly. The man above her had short, auburn-red hair and the clearest, brown eyes she’d ever seen. _‘I know that face,’_ she thought to herself as she reached up to trace the line of his chin. He grabbed her hand as it lay resting on his chin, smiling down at her.

“Well, I would hope you’d know this face; after all, who could forget it?” He smiled at her, then turned his head to look behind him and said, “Hey, guy! I don’t know if you heard that, but she’s awake!”

She heard several footsteps approach where she lay. Soon, her bed was surrounded by three others. Pulling her hand away from the man’s face, she slowly sat up, finally getting a good look at those around her. The two men on her left were ones she easily recognized on an elementary and a personal level. Elementary because the whole world knew them as Superman and the Martian Manhunter, but if her dreams were to be believed, then it was personal because she knew them better as Clark and J’onn. Even the red-headed man sitting beside her on the bed was giving her a similar reaction for she knew his costume to belong to the Flash, but she also knew that his name was Wally. To be frank, it was all a bit disconcerting and a little bit frightening.

“Um, J’onn, why’s she looking at us like she doesn’t know us?” the red-haired man, Wally, asked. He looked very concerned by the fact that she didn’t seem to know them and strangely enough she could _feel_ his concern radiating off him.

The third man at her bedside remained silent, observing them all. That wasn’t surprising considering that the third man was Gotham’s greatest detective.

“Give her a few moments. Coming out of a four-day coma would disorient anyone,” the green-skinned Martian spoke. _‘I’ve been in a coma for four days? If that was true, how come I don’t feel like it? How can I trust anything I’ve dreamt? It all could have been her mind working to cope with the trauma or—’_ Her mind stopped its mile-a-minute run when she felt someone grip her right hand. Her eyes followed the line of her arm until they met black gloves. She continued upward until she was gazing into cowl masked eyes.

Her expression must have conveyed her uncertainty because the Batman said, “It was real, Anyssa.” Those few words, the sheer seriousness of his tone, released the anxiety her felt digging in her chest. The relief was so intense her breath came in soft gasps.

“Oh thank God. I thought I’d imagined it or worst; that I was starting to lose my mind,” she whispered. She looked up and met each man’s gaze. “Thank you, Wally, Clark, J’onn, Batman, for _everything_ you’ve done.” Each man knew exactly what she meant.

“There is no need for thanks, Anyssa,” Clark said, giving her a soft smile.

“Clark is right, gl’ae’da. If anything, we helped each other,” J’onn said. Wally just nodded, agreeing with J’onn. Hearing J’onn’s affectionate term for her, it finally hit home for Anyssa that it _was real_ , that the link was real.

“Um, hate to break up the happy moment, but I have a question,” Wally said. Anyssa couldn’t help, but smile at J’onn’s sigh of frustration. Apparently, that had become a familiar phrase.

“Yes, Wally?”

“Anyssa, why are you still calling Bats ‘Batman’? Don’t tell me Mr. Dark-and-Gloomy managed to sneak the secret identity by you!” Wally exclaimed.

‘Leave it to Wally to notice the little things,’ she thought. “No, Wally, that didn’t sneak pass me. In fact,” she turned an inquisitive gaze toward the Dark Knight and continued, “I seem to remember someone promising me an unmasking upon my awakening, and now that I’m conscious, I don’t see any reason for further delay.”

The detective gave her a slight smirk and reached up to pull the cowl off of his face. Anyssa could feel her jaw drop and didn’t even try to stop it. She just couldn’t believe her eyes.

The man before her was a man that everyone in Gotham has seen at one time or another. His company made him millions each day and his charities have helped millions, including her. Even if he wasn’t famous, that dark hair and soft blue eyes were something a girl wouldn’t forget. Still, who would have ever guessed that the world’s greatest detective was really... “Bruce Wayne?!!” Anyssa shouted when she regained her voice and wits.

Wally rubbed his ringing ears, muttering, “Her eyes, voice, and lungs are working great.”  Anyssa ignored it; after all, she wasn’t being _that_ loud and besides, this was the shock of a lifetime. The others just laughed at their speedy comrade.

Anyssa took a moment to observe them. These were some of the most powerful men (some out of costume as well as in) in the world. They faced more danger in a week than most people see in their entire lives and as the Justice League, they seemed untouchable.

_‘No, that wasn’t right,’_ Anyssa thought as she internally shook her head. They were touched by the problems the world and at times, the galaxy faced everyday. They had to be or they wouldn’t do what they do. As she remembered their doubts, their fears, their pains, she realized something.

_She_ had touched their lives. _She_ had helped them to see pass the doubts, confront their fears, and share their pains. _She_ helped them remember the _man_ and as she looked at those smiling faces of those around her, she knew that she’d made the right choice.

“Um, guys, I’m kinda tired of being in bed. Is there somewhere else we can go that doesn’t require me sitting in a bed?” There was a chorus of ‘sures’ and ‘of courses’ before Wally made a speedy exit and return with a wheelchair. She didn’t even try to hide the grimace at seeing the contraption.

Wally just laughed. “I promise, walking plus a four-day coma won’t equal the results you want. Besides, with me as your handsome driver, you’ll be in the best of hands.” That said, Anyssa didn’t even notice that she was no longer in the bed, but sitting in the aforementioned wheelchair. She tossed a mock glare at the speedster, who didn’t look the least bit repentant.

“Wally’s right, Anyssa,” Clark added. Anyssa looked around her, seeing similar looks of agreement. Seeing that she was already out-voted, she just leaned back in the chair and laughed. “Alright, alright! I give up! Let’s just get outta here.”

Wally was more than happy to oblige. He pushed her chair to the door, already chatting about the view of Earth from the Watchtower. Anyssa let him, just as excited to see what lie beyond that room. Then, she noticed that she and Wally were the only ones going through the open door. “Hang on a minute, Wally.” She turned back to the other three men in the room. “Coming, guys?”

Anyssa watched as Clark spared the other two men a glance, then smiled and replied, “We’ll be along in a minute. There are just a few things that we need to clean up here.”

Anyssa felt her eyebrow rise in suspicion. Though her empathy wasn’t as strong in the real world as in the dreamscape, she could feel their worry. So, she had a feeling about what they were up to and decided to let them know that they weren’t fooling her. “Okay. Just don’t take too long comparing notes,” she said, and then looked up at Wally. “So, Wally, inquiring minds what to know, who is faster: Flash or Superman?” she asked with a smirk.

Wally beamed and as he wheeled her from the room, set off on a tale of a race and a weather wizard.

**—8—**

With Anyssa gone, J’onn waited for the questions he was sure to come.

“How is she, J’onn?” Clark asked, only mildly concerned. Though the Man of Steel hid it well, he was just as anxious about Anyssa’s condition as Wally.

“From what I can tell from my initial scans, she seems fine,” J’onn commented.

“What about the disorientation she experienced upon awakening?” Clark inquired.

“The disorientation seemed to stem from the coma itself rather than from the activities during the coma. Since it didn’t last, but a few moments, I wouldn’t worry about it,” J’onn explained.

“And mentally?” Bruce questioned.

J’onn looked to the Dark Knight expecting that particular question from him. “The shield over her mind is still present and very strong; however, now there seem to be pathways through it that were not present before.”

“Pathways? To where?” Bruce wondered.

“Since there are four of them, I can only assume they lead directly to each of us. I’ve tested each one and found that only one allowed me entrance. I did a quick surface scan of her mind, and she appears to be fine, a little tired, but fine,” J’onn clarified.

This diagnosis seemed to placate his teammates for the moment and the group left to join Wally and Anyssa. What he didn’t tell them was that those pathways had safeguards, safeguards he could not bypass without severely injuring himself mentally. Also from what he observed happen between Anyssa and Wally, the pathways weren’t one-way.

J’onn had many questions of his own about their new bond-mate, but unfortunately, only time could answer them

**—8—**

The End of Link to Justice


End file.
